The use of animals in rituals and sports is millennia-old. At which moment we humans thought of commercializing these practices—advertising the events, charging for admission, gambling on the outcomes, awarding prize money to winners—remains an open question, but what’s certain is that when we pit animals in athletic contests against people or against each other, a great deal of money often changes hands.
The many forms of such “sport,” or physical contest involving animals and financial gain, whether legal or not, include horse racing, dog racing, bullfighting, dog fighting, rodeos, and bear baiting, to name just a few.
Racehorses’ work brings billions in profits
The world’s most popular and lucrative animal-use sporting event is horse racing.
According to PaulickReport.com, annual worldwide wagering reaches about $14 billion. Betting on U.S. races alone amounted to $6.5 billion in 2009, and racehorse owners competed for a total of some $500 million in purse money.
England’s Grand National race “racks up as much as £300 million [about $460 million],” making it the world’s second largest single gambling event behind the soccer World Cup, according to William Spain of MarketWatch.com, while the U.K.’s four-day Cheltenham Festival rakes in some £600 million [about $920 million].
Horse race betting is big business, especially online. Last year, Churchill Downs Inc. bought youbet.com for $128.7 million, as reported by various media.
“Racetracks’ overriding objective is shareholder wealth maximization,” writes Bill Shanklin on HorseracingBusiness.com. “Penn National, to illustrate, began as a racing organization but has transitioned into a casino company.”
According to Animal Law Coalition’s Laura Allen, “…horse racing is about gambling dollars, and it is Congress that has permitted simulcast betting across state lines pursuant to the Interstate Horse Racing Act, 15 U.S.C. §3001 et seq. And that has made horse racing a $50 billion a year industry. Congress has also exempted internet gambling on horse racing from restrictions on online gambling under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA), 31 U.S.C.§§5361-5367.”
An ad for betting website TwinSpires.com shown recently on ESPN.com urged viewers to “Watch five races at once…” in “the best online wagering experience,” and offered gamblers a $100 signup bonus.
Zenyatta, “regal like Hepburn,” wins big
Today, a six-year-old, gregarious mare named Zenyatta is one of the sport’s most prominent figures.
Named after an album titled Zenyatta Mondatta by rock group The Police, the champion horse is co-owned by hit-making record executive Jerome S. “Jerry” Moss, as reported by various media. With Herb Alpert, Moss co-founded A&M Records (Alpert was the “A,” and Moss was the “M”) whose chart-topper acts included The Police.
Winning every race she’s run so far and nicknamed "The Queen," Zenyatta inspires gushing from industry observers and something close to worship from fans.
“The mare is regal, like Hepburn,” writes Hal Lundgren in Chron.com, “wholesome looking, like Paltrow; warmly engaging, like Bullock. That last quality sets her apart from so many other Southern California stars.”
“Her career has been about creating firsts,” writes Bill Dwyre of The Los Angeles Times “The best case in point: becoming the first female to win a Breeders' Cup Classic, when she ran past the boys at the end of the $5 million race last year at Santa Anita, just like she always runs past everybody when the finish line comes into view.”
A reader left a comment on Lundgren’s story saying that she draws “courage” from Zenyatta’s drive to win. Following the horse’s career prevented her “from going over the edge” during a difficult period in her life.
“[Zenyatta] is not just a star,” the reader explained, “she is a gift, a gift that her owners share with us every day… a gift that God gave us, a gift to be valued and applauded. God smiled, reached down, touched Zenyatta on her foaling day and whispered "this One.”
Please return to this page soon for the next article in this series titled:
"Working Animals (Part 2): Advocacy groups allege racehorse abuse"
Katerina Lorenzatos Makris (a.k.a. Kathryn Makris) has written 18 books for major publishers and hundreds of articles for publications such as National Geographic Traveler, San Francisco Chronicle, Mother Jones, and two regional news wire services.
A cofounder of AnimalBeat.org, she holds a B.A. in Environmental Science Studies and a lifelong interest in animal issues.
|
