In a world where people want to bet on anything and everything, for example on Slots, it perhaps should not be all that much of a surprise that there is usually an illegal alternative to anything legal.
Although activities such as illegal underground boxing may not surprise those familiar with films like Fight Club, a similar mindset may not apply when it comes to the topic of illegal horse racing. While it is more frequently seen in the United States of America, it is also something that occurs in the UK – even though there are almost 50,000 legal races annually.
While evading illegal horse racing in the US may be comprehensible due to the country’s immense size, the same cannot be claimed for the United Kingdom. This indicates it is significantly rarer in Britain, although it does occur.
As you can envision, various activities occur at these events, which is what renders them unlawful. Concern for the well-being of the horses is a lesser priority, if not completely ignored, while any wagers made on these events can easily be lost due to the dishonest individuals handling them.
What Are Illegal Horse Races?
A race that occurs outside the authority of the British Horseracing Authority, or the appropriate authority in that country, is different from an entirely unlawful race.
In several respects, it is fair to differentiate between flapping tracks and licensed ones in greyhound racing, in addition to those that are entirely illegal. In that case, licensed tracks have received permission to operate from the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, while flapping tracks have not and thus function without the authority’s regulation.
At the same time, illicit greyhound races occur “underground,” familiar only to a limited circle, and often involve practices that can be harmful or risky for the competing greyhounds. In the same way, the realm of illicit horse racing is not only one where the British Horseracing Authority has not granted a license but also one where participants are engaging without any form of regulation.
There is no obligation to care for the horses or the jockeys, implying that it is fundamentally an experience where anything is permissible. This is what renders it unlawful and, like other greyhound racing, risky for everyone involved.
Rancho El Centenario
To illustrate the realm of unlawful horse racing, one should consider a small town named Milner, which has a population of 800, situated in the state of Georgia in the US. The racetrack is named Rancho El Centenario, displaying the Mexican flag and employing armed security to inspect the vehicles of those wanting to enter and watch the races. To achieve this, they must each pay $100, granting them access to the pecan farm where the races will occur. The individuals going there are aware of what they’re in for, and it’s not the same experience as one would find at a licensed racetrack.
Reporters observed a trainer inject a horse with a syringe in its neck, prompting cheers from the nearby audience when one person requested another for her. While they claimed it didn’t have performance-enhancing substances, asserting that it was solely intended to avert the risk of a stroke or heart attack in the horse, evidence indicates differently. A reporter from the Washington Post collected a comparable syringe after use and forwarded it to Industrial Laboratories, which reported that it had methamphetamine and methylphenidate.
Naturally, this is merely one instance of a similar track. At the time the article was released, there were 89 of these locations. These uncontrolled ‘bush tracks’ are areas where trainers can act freely with the horses. Animal cruelty is on par with doping as an issue that remains unmonitored at these tracks. Even jockeys are at risk, as one jockey who was banned from regulated racing for using shock devices learned when he passed away at Rancho El Centenario. Regardless of whether you are the one riding or being ridden, the chances of death are significant at such a track.
