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Avoiding the Horse Race Trap When Covering the 2020 Presidential Race

When reporters covering political campaigns, particularly elections, focus primarily on who is ahead or behind in opinion polls and predictions – what’s been called horse-race coverage – the voters, the candidates and the news industry suffer, research suggests. This collection of articles, updated for the 2020 presidential race, explores how journalists can avoid this dangerous trap.

The thrill of feeling the earth shake as a mass of thundering hooves comes barreling down the stretch is one of the quintessential Kentucky Derby experiences. But there is more to the sport than that. Horse racing has a rich history of competition and tradition steeped in time-honored customs that continue to captivate audiences around the world.

Whether you’re watching from the grandstand on Millionaires Row or standing in the infield where fans mix and mingle, feeling that ground shake under your feet as a million horses hit the track is something to behold. The history of the sport also includes a rich and varied culture of fashion, food and drink.

In 2023, American Horseracing contributed $36 billion to the economy and supported nearly half a million jobs. But the sport isn’t without its critics, including animal rights activists who say horses are unprepared to handle the demands of competition. The unnatural training of a horse to run on a hard track at high speeds causes frequent injuries. It’s not uncommon for a horse to break a leg or sustain other catastrophic injuries, such as internal hemorrhaging or a collapsed lungs.

Horses are also subjected to a range of other gruesome practices, from illegal electric shocks and whipping to drug abuse and a lifetime of unnatural confinement. This often leads to mental and physical suffering, which can manifest in compulsive behavior like cribbing (biting on its gate or neck muscles) or pacing, as well as self-harm. One study found that 3 thoroughbreds died every day in North America due to catastrophic injuries sustained during a race.

The unnatural training of a horse to race causes many injuries, from broken legs and lacerations to internal bleeding and even hemorrhage in the lungs. One of the most common types of injuries is fractures of the bones in the hindquarters, where a horse’s legs are positioned when it runs. This is because a horse runs in a counter-clockwise motion and requires the hindquarters to have greater extension than the forelegs in order to travel as quickly as possible. A fracture here can be fatal if it occurs during the stretch run of a race.

Despite its storied history, horse races are no picnic for spectators or the horses themselves. The sport is rife with scandal, fraud and corruption. But it’s not all bad news: There are some promising developments, including a move towards a more centralized and transparent betting model. In the meantime, if you want to learn more about horse-race reporting, I suggest reading the articles in this collection or contacting someone who does it for a living.