The Dangers of Political Horse Race Journalism

Horse racing is a sport involving humans perched on the backs of animals that are compelled by whips to run at breakneck speed. It has been popular in civilizations throughout history and is often the subject of myth and legend. It is also a popular hobby for many people and the subject of television shows and movies.

When reporters covering elections focus primarily on who’s winning or losing — what’s known as horse race coverage, or simply horse-race journalism — voters, candidates and the news media itself suffer, a growing body of research suggests. This collection of research updates previous work and includes new findings on third-party political candidates, probabilistic forecasting and TV news coverage.

One of the most famous examples of horse-race journalism was Secretariat’s 1973 Belmont Stakes win, which was hailed as “the greatest race ever.” But even the greatest showdowns don’t necessarily measure up in terms of sheer magnitude. For a race to be truly great, it must have at least two elements: 1) a head-to-head competition that reaches its climax at the moment when the outcome becomes inevitable; and 2) an outstanding individual performance that elevates the contest beyond a mere slog.

For horses, these elements are not easy to achieve. The rigors of a horse race can cause serious injury to the animal, whether from an accident or as a result of being pushed beyond its limits. It is also common for horses to bleed from their lungs during hard running, a condition called exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH). This bleeding is caused by the body’s natural response to strenuous activity and can be deadly, but it is not unusual in the context of horse racing. For this reason, almost every horse that runs a race receives a dose of Lasix on race day, a diuretic that is noted in the official race form with a boldface letter L.

Another problem is that most races are handicapped, meaning that horses compete against others of similar class. To ensure the fairness of the competition, a series of rules were developed that include age, sex, birthplace, and other characteristics of the animal, as well as the skills and abilities of riders. This system eventually produced a series of races known as graded stakes in the United States, Listed stakes in England and France, and Group and other race types elsewhere.

In addition to handicapping, the sport is subject to a variety of other regulations and legal issues. For example, it is illegal to bribe a jockey by offering him or her cash or other items of value. Additionally, the exploitation of these animals is a frequent concern. Activists are calling for reform, and the not-infrequent injuries to racehorses are sometimes used to argue that the sport should be banned altogether. These concerns have prompted the HBO series Luck, which stars Dustin Hoffman as a horse racer, to be canceled just three episodes in. Despite these problems, the sport continues to be an important part of society.