Horse racing involves significant welfare risks including musculoskeletal injuries, drug use, and end-of-career welfare challenges.
Racing horse welfare involves acute risks from catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries alongside chronic risks from medication masking of pain, intense training demands, and inadequate recovery time. The sport's economics create pressure to race horses that may be managing underlying conditions. End-of-career welfare is a significant issue because thoroughbreds are retired at 4-6 years — when they have decades of life remaining — and the retraining and rehoming infrastructure is chronically underfunded.