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"And they're off!" The race begins. The horses gallop full speed down the straight away. Hooves thunder on the ground as they round the first corner. The horses' legs flash like lightning slightly skimming the ground before being thrust into the air again. Now they are coming down the home stretch at full speed. But is racing all fun and games? Or is there another side to the sport that not many people know about?

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Drape, Joe. "Faster Horses? Study Credits Jockeys." The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 July 2009. Web. 28 May 2014.

Drape, Joe. "Seamy Side of a Sport: Prodding Horses With Shocks." The New York Times 28 Mar. 2014: B16(L). Student Resources in Context. Web. 28 May 2014.

"Whipping Doesn't Make Racehorses Go Faster." PETA Whipping Doesnt Make Racehorses Go Faster Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2014.

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We're living things too you know.

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Do you want to be beat with a whip?

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Do we deserve this?

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Would you hurt us?

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My opinion on what to do is to totally outlaw

buzzers and have thorough searches to make

sure no one is hiding any. As for whips, well, I

would say to not let anyone use them during

races unless the horse is misbehaving. Like

bucking, refusing to move, etc. But, slamming

the whip down on them 15-20 times down the

home stretch is not something I'd like to see

any more of.

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You can see that the jockey is hitting the horse in this picture.

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                      What We Should Do Instead

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                      What We Should Do Instead

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Another study shows that a jockey can

actually help their horses run faster by

standing, crouched over in the saddle,

using their legs as shocks like in a car to

make it easier for the horse to run. They

can also time movements with the

horse's stride to help push it forward.

Race times in the US and Britain

improved 5-7% using this "Monkey

Crouch" position. Do jockeys have to

whip and beat their horses to win races?

No they don't. If they improve their

position, there will be no need for this

abuse.

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A study done by the University of Sydney shows that

when the horses are not being beat and shocked

during the first part of the race they accelerate and go

faster. But, at the final stretch of the race when jockeys

beat them mercilessly, the horses either slow down or

stay at the same speed. This is because hitting and

shocking to make the horse go is actually  punishing

the horse for running faster.

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Buzzers are a small electrical device that shock

horses to make them run faster. Thankfully, they

were outlawed at all the US. racetracks. But, some

people sneak them into races anyway. In the

2000's alone, there have been 53 buzzer cases at

US. races. Jockeys can be suspended from

racing for using buzzers.

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What Is Really There  Under All The Glamour?

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What Is Really There  Under All The Glamour?

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Horse races are great fun to watch, but what most people

don't know is that the horses are being beat and sometimes

shocked into running that fast. The Kentucky Derby is called

"The best two minutes in sports." But is it that fun for the

horses? The answer is no.