Horse Racing - Opinions?

[handh02]

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I'm new to the equine vet field, as I've always been more of a research field track. I wanted to know what people in the field think about racing, the organizations that sponsor the events, and racing as a veterinary field.

I began thinking about this because I recently moved to Hong Kong, where racing is a big deal and it is all organized by one company, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (http://www.hkjc.com/english/index.asp). They house the horses, train them, and race them, all for their profit (and the few individual owners that might exist). Every horse racing in Hong Kong has to go through them. With the upcoming Equestrian Olympics being held here, it's a really big deal. I've been offered a chance to job shadow some of the vets the HKJC employs, with the possibility of a job in the future, but I wanted to get some background and opinions before I got in too deep.

Thanks for any information you can provide.😀

I did a search, and the only threads that came up were very old, so I decided to ask again, so apologies in advance if you've seen this thread already.

 

[Rebeki]

I'm kind of surprised that no one had responded to this post. I'll give you my two cents...I worked at a greyhound racing track at one point. Greyhound racing is somewhat controversial, probably more so than horse racing. I know that the track I worked at the dogs were taken good care of and I felt comfortable working there. However, I don't think that I would have felt comfortable at every track in the country. Point is every track/situation is different. My opinion is to shadow the vets and see how the animals are cared for and if it is something that you feel comfortable with. It could be a really great opportunity.