Horse racing has evolved from a primitive contest of speed and stamina between two horses into a massive entertainment industry, but its basic concept remains the same. The first horse to cross the finish line wins. This has never changed, even as the sport has grown into a complex business with enormous crowds, sophisticated monitoring equipment, and huge sums of money.

The sport has also endured some major changes with the advent of new technology, including thermal imaging cameras that can detect overheating after a race and MRI scanners and x-rays used to evaluate injuries and health conditions of horses and jockeys. The sport also relies on 3D printing to produce splints and casts for injured horses, as well as a variety of other medical tools and devices.

However, despite a slew of technological improvements, the industry continues to lose fans, races, and overall revenue. In addition, the deaths of American thoroughbreds Eight Belles and Medina Spirit prompted a serious reckoning with the ethics of the sport. Horses continue to die of heart attacks, injuries, and breakdowns while under the exorbitant physical stress of racing and training. Many are then discarded or sent to slaughter in foreign factories.

As a result, the racing industry has shifted from a private investment enterprise to one that is dependent on state governments for tax revenues. This has not gone unnoticed by racing aficionados, who are increasingly frustrated by an inability to shift the balance from profits to the welfare of horses.

The racetrack has a number of different types of races, but the most common are sprints and long distance races. The sprints are generally shorter and require faster acceleration, while the longer races are a test of endurance. There are a variety of breeds that can be raced, but most organizations have rules that specify what type of horse can compete in a race.

In the United States, flat races are usually run over distances of 440 yards (400 m) or more. In other countries, they may be over a mile or two. The length of a race determines the prize money, which can range from hundreds of thousands of dollars to tens of millions of dollars.

A race that is handicapped assigns weights to the horses in order to level the playing field. This is done by evaluating the horse’s past performances and the expected performance of other horses in similar races. The higher the weight, the more difficult it will be for the horse to win.

There are a lot of different things that need to change in horse racing, but the most important thing is the welfare of the horses. To truly put the welfare of the horses first will require a fundamental ideological reckoning on the macro business and industry levels, as well as within horseracing’s hearts and minds. This will have to include a complete restructuring from the breeding shed to the racetrack to prioritize horses’ best interests, from caps on how often they can be run and their years of service, to incorporating a more natural and equine-friendly lifestyle for all racing horses.