Responding to Risk: Regulation or Prohibition? New Zealand Media Reporting of Thoroughbred Jumps Racing 2016–2018

Abstract

Jumps racing involves a higher risk of accident and fatality than flat racing. The wide accessibility of media, combined with alternate views regarding the place of animals in society, raises the question of the acceptability of the continuation of jumps racing. Racing data and media articles from Newztext and Google news search were collected for the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 jumps racing seasons, during which the fatality rate was 5.8 per 1000 starters. Jumps racing articles comprised 3.4% of all race reporting, and the volume of discussion about jumps racing was minimal (2.9% of jumps race articles related to the continuation of jumps racing), short-lived and related to horse fatalities. Articles were categorised and analysed using rhetorical analysis to determine the main arguments. The inherent risk posed by jumps racing to the horse formed a basis for two argumentative positions. Proponents of jumps racing argued that risks were reasonable, with risk minimisation measures best determined by expertise and care from within the racing industry, labelling opponents as naïve extremists. Opponents of jumps racing used anthropomorphism of the horse to argue that any risk was unacceptable and jumps racing should be banned. Horses were attributed with rights, and from this perspective, the racing industry exploited horses for entertainment. These two different arguments were used to shape claims for and against the continuation of jumps racing, allowing both to be built upon a shared acceptance of inherent risk.

Commercial equine production in New Zealand 4: welfare implications of the New Zealand production systems

“…In the current global climate of constant worldwide media and social media access with graphic images, welfare concerns, particularly in the racing or production sectors, may be temporally influenced by a sector of society with little to no equine knowledge (Legg et al 2019). The views of this previously naïve sector of society may be in stark contrast to participants within the equine industry, but targeted media coverage can greatly influence the perceived worth of the horse and thus acceptable welfare standards.…”

“…The public concern for welfare of racehorses appears to be largely focused on Thoroughbred racing itself, and concerns directly related to racing, rather than issues relating to the growth and development of the racehorse. The focus from lobby groups and issues highlighted in public press and social media have tended to focus on emotive statements about immature horses, whipped to perform, catastrophic injuries, the number of horses sent to slaughter post-racing and the risk to horses from falling in jumps races (Legg et al 2019;Heleski et al 2020). However, discussion around racing in New Zealand media appears minimal and shortlived, typically sparked by an adverse event that is publicised, indicating that racehorse welfare is not a high priority for mainstream New Zealand public (Legg et al 2019).…”

“…The racing industry (Thoroughbred and Standardbred) forms a large and highly regulated part of the equestrian culture in New Zealand (Bolwell et al 2020). Due to the highly public nature of the industry, it has been increasingly under public scrutiny in terms of its social licence to operate (public acceptance of racing as a sport and commercial activity), with the welfare of the horse both during and after their racing careers becoming increasingly important to many sectors of society (Legg et al 2019;Heleski et al 2020).…”

The External Workload of Thoroughbred Horse Racing Jockeys

“…At an industry level, much of the appeal of the thoroughbred industry is based on tradition and the maintenance of traditional practices. Attention on the sustainability of the industry has primarily focused on the impact of these traditional practices on the horse, rather than a broader context of all industry participants [5][6][7]. Indeed, there appears to have been limited focus on how the workplace practices and physiological challenges of jockeys (high perceived workload and maintenance of low body weights) are sustainable within the industry, both from a health and safety and economic perspective.…”

“…However, jumps races are seasonal, and this may, in part, contribute to the higher rate of falls by jumps racing jockeys. Any greater risk of a fall in jumps racing due to "lack of practice" is further exacerbated by the greater inherent risk of a fall in jumps racing due to longer races and therefore greater time spent at risk, as well as the nature of jumping a fence during a race, increasing the chance of a jockey becoming unseated [7,26,27]. The majority of jockeys compete sporadically and do not have a sufficient workload to prepare them for them for the higher levels of the sport without additional physical training.…”