I'm under the opinion that it should be banned because of the countless unnecessary deaths it has cost to both rider and horse. Mainly horse.
I would like to discuss both sides and hear what other peoples opinions are.
For what you appear to be looking at you really needed to word your question differently. It's a bit like saying should drinking wine be banned.
Reason being is that not all racing is created equally. From what I've seen the question you're looking for is should modern flat track racing (TB and other futurities) be banned. You'll get the same host of replies
, but I'll explain why it's important to ask this sort of question as specifically as possible.
No, racing should not be banned. There are very well managed, horse conscious races. Endurance racing, in general, is pretty responsible (horse must be at least 60 months old, etc....). Horse racing can be done in a manner that is not so detrimental for the horse.
Yes, I feel modern flat track racing should be banned, but only because what it evolved into. Flat track racing today (or even for the past 100 years) is not about the speed of the horse. If it were about the speed they'd be racing 7 and 8 year olds. A 7 year old stallion that was trained conditioned for racing after it's body was properly mature enough for each stage will leave a 3 or 4 year old colt in the dust. Once upon a time there were raced at the older age and even TB races were longer (by miles). Once upon a time they didn't dump 5,000+ TB (that's from the TB racing industry alone) on the market every year with many of them suffering from physical problems caused by being ridden and raced too soon in their development (e.g. racing before even the leg bones have finished maturing, let along the back and rest of the skeleton and joints). This doesn't make racing bad. It just means the industry doesn't "really" care about the horse beyond it's value for winning and subsequently breeding (if it's a proven winner). It's an industry. It's about $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. The longer you wait to race the horse the longer you have to feed and care for it before finding out if it's even going to make you any money. The sooner you race it the sooner it can start paying for it's upkeep.....or get dumped, because it's a looser (so you don't waste more money on it). Always remember that it's a business and it's about making money. So if you can race for 3 or 4 years and win most of them and have a colt that you can charge a heft stud fee on then you've hit the racing jackpot. Of course then there's the issue of them using them for stud to early too, but that's a different topic (and they've developed rehab for that too). Now there are also successful fillies out there who make big money too. Just can't breed them as much and sort of limited to the number of foals you'll be able to sell out of them. Ruffian comes to mind (a contemporary of Secretariat), but her carrier (and life) ended after her breaking her sesamoids in that match race where she was proving that she could out run the colt who won Derby that year (Foolish Pleasure I believe), but she didn't get to finish the race. Of course she had already survived one broken bone that had healed up (the year before I think). Goes to show that they'll do whatever they can to keep a proven winner running. Bigger and or more numerous the wins, the bigger the pay off at the end. Imagine the money to be made on a foal out of her sired by Secretariat.
No, racing isn't bad, but the racing industry is not good for horses. It's a business and the horses are just a commodity used to make money. The way flat track racing is done today should be banned, but racing should be allowed with horses trained when the physical development of the horse allows for each level of training, conditioning and preparation. Racing 7 year old horses, who were started under saddle at 5 are not going to result in the kind and number problems you see today. But then I know people who start riding their horses at 2 years old which is years before they're ready. However, they have the big animal and it "looks" ready, and other people do it, and they don't want to wait all those years (and of course they don't know the actual development process for the equine skeleton and joints) so....they saddle up and ride, because they don't know any better (I prefer not to say they don't care, because I always like to think that they would if they knew.....but then I do sometimes hear them make arguments and excuses to excuse or justify it when they're informed)
But look at the bright side. With the many thousands of OTTB's dumbed out there for people who want cheap (or free) horses....added to the unwanted show horses, backyard horses, other racing industry horses (QH, etc...) no one should ever have problem finding a horse. Of course most of the horses end up having a problem finding home. The TB racing industry alone puts 50,000 animals on the market per decade. There's never going to be enough people to take them all. Not to mention that the racing TB are not bred to be physically hardy animals like they were hundreds of years ago. e.g. their bones are not has heavy...remember it's about speed and weight slows you down so lighter bones are better (unless you're not racing on a flat track).
As the those with the "feral" horse ideas. In fact, a horse will revert to a feral state relatively easily in an area with terrain that will support them. How do you think so many feral bands started to begin with (Crackers in FL, March Tacky in SC -although none currently exist in the wild, I remember when they did...and other associated horses now living on a couple of islands in VA and NC, Mustangs throughout most of the western states, Brumbies in Australia). If they have food they generally manage. And if they can find another horse (or more) they'll manage pretty happily. The problem isn't their ability to go feral. The problem is a place to live. Development will prevent them. They're not like cats or pigs. They're LARGE and move over a greater area. Grazing as they go. Human population density and development most areas make it impossible for horses to manage. At least in the eastern half of the US. That's what the few left from the earlier feral horses are restricted to islands where there are managed and protected.
Hope that answered your question and explained why.