A Bioeconomic Model for the Thoroughbred Racing Industry-Optimisation of the Production Cycle with a Horse Centric Welfare Perspective.
Abstract: The Thoroughbred racing industry faces new and competing pressures to operate within a modern, changing society. Three major moderators drive the focus and productivity of the industry worldwide: economic sustainability, horse biology and social licence to operate. This review proposes that despite the apparent homogeneity in the structure of racing across jurisdictions due to international regulation of the sport, there are significant differences within each jurisdiction in each of the three moderators. This creates challenges for the comparison of injury risk factors for racehorses within the industry across different jurisdictions. Comparison of the relative distribution of racing and gambling metrics internationally indicates that the Asian jurisdictions have a high focus on gambling efficiency and high economic return of the product, with a high number of starts per horse and the highest relative betting turnover. In contrast, the racing metrics from the USA have proportionally low racing stakes and fewer horses per race. These differences provide insight into the sociology of horse ownership, with a shift from the long-term return on investment held by most jurisdictions to a short-term transitional view and immediate return on investment in others. Wastage studies identify varying risks influenced by the predominant racing culture, training methods, production focus and environment within individual jurisdictions. Increasing societal pressure to maintain high racehorse welfare and reduce the negative impact of gambling poses fluctuating risks to each jurisdiction's social licence to operate. Based on the data presented within this review, the authors propose that the use of a bioeconomic model would permit consideration of all three moderators on industry practice and optimisation of the jurisdiction-specific production cycle with a horse-centric welfare perspective.
Publication Date: 2023-01-30 PubMed ID: 36766368PubMed Central: PMC9913657DOI: 10.3390/ani13030479Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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The research paper proposes a bioeconomic model for the Thoroughbred racing industry, taking into consideration economic, biological and societal factors, maintaining a focus on horse welfare. The model aims to optimize operations within different jurisdictions, while addressing the challenge of comparing injury risk factors due to the significant differences among these jurisdictions.
Three Moderators in the Thoroughbred Racing Industry
- The paper suggests that the Thoroughbred racing industry worldwide is predominantly influenced by three factors: economic sustainability, horse biology, and social licence to operate.
- Despite uniform international regulation, major differences exist within individual jurisdictions in terms of these three factors. This creates difficulties when comparing injury risk factors for horses across different jurisdictions.
Comparison of Racing and Gambling Metrics Internationally
- The authors conducted a comparative study of the relative distribution of racing and gambling metrics internationally.
- The study indicates that Asian jurisdictions emphasize heavily on gambling efficiency, with high economic returns, a high number of starts per horse, and the highest relative betting turnover.
- In contrast, American jurisdictions have proportionally lower racing stakes and fewer horses per race.
- These differences give an insight into the sociology of horse ownership. It shows a shift from the long-term return on investment approach in most jurisdictions to a short-term transitional view focusing on immediate return on investment in some jurisdictions.
Wastage Studies and Societal Pressure
- Wastage studies point out varying risks influenced by the predominant racing culture, training methods, production focus, and the environment within individual jurisdictions.
- Rising societal pressure geared towards maintaining high racehorse welfare and reducing the negative impact of gambling creates fluctuating risks to each jurisdiction’s social licence to operate.
Proposal of a Bioeconomic Model
- The authors propose the establishment of a bioeconomic model, considering all three influential factors: economics, biology, and society.
- This model would allow jurisdiction-specific optimization of the production cycle, keeping a horse-centric welfare viewpoint at its core. It aims to balance these different factors optimally within various geographical contexts of the Thoroughbred racing industry.
Cite This Article
APA
Legg KA, Gee EK, Breheny M, Gibson MJ, Rogers CW.
(2023).
A Bioeconomic Model for the Thoroughbred Racing Industry-Optimisation of the Production Cycle with a Horse Centric Welfare Perspective.
Animals (Basel), 13(3), 479.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13030479 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- School of Veterinary Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
- School of Veterinary Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
- School of Health, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
- School of Veterinary Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
- School of Veterinary Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
- School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
Grant Funding
- 9/2017 / Equine Trust
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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