Horse jockeys suffer debilitating and sometimes fatal injuries when their horses break down while racing. Between 700 and 800 racehorses die from injuries every year. The New York Times recently conducted an investigation that reveals that many of these horses were given cocaine, cobra venom, Viagra and other performance-enhancing substances. According to the Times, an average of 24 horses die every week at American racetracks. There are no postmortem examinations of the animals. Since 2009, there are records of 3,800 incidents of illegal doping at American tracks. Given that only a small percentage of horses are actually tested, this figure is likely to be greatly understated. During that same period, the number of horses that broke down due to injury is 6,600, a figure that is on the rise. The general consensus is that this high figure is due to drugs.
