A horse race is a contest of skill, talent, and personality. It may be a political contest, a business competition or a sporting event. The term is also used in a non-literal sense, often to describe any close contest or struggle. A political horse race can refer to a particular aspect of a campaign such as the debates, or a specific vote such as a primary. A business horse race, meanwhile, is often a method of selecting a new executive leader. The process is based on a series of critical roles through which the candidates can gain the competencies and seasoning necessary to lead a company. A board or current CEO should consider whether the culture and organizational structure are compatible with an overt leadership contest before implementing one.

It is a dark side of the sport that must be addressed and the horse-racing industry must evolve its business model to ensure that the best interests of horses are front and center. It cannot continue to ignore the concerns of animal rights activists, bury its heads in the sand and pretend that a few improvements here and there will solve this problem. The fact is that horses routinely die from the exorbitant physical stress of racing and training, and are regularly injured and broken as they try to compete at America’s most prestigious races.

This year’s Derby comes on the heels of a tragedy nobody can forget: Eight Belles, who died in the middle of the race. She was only three years old. Her death, like that of her stablemate Medina Spirit, sparked a national reckoning about the ethics of the sport and sparked a demand for real reform.

Despite the best efforts of a feckless government and state regulators, horse racing continues to be rife with alleged doping and drug use, unsafe riding conditions, and exploitation of young horses by trainers and stallions. These abuses go on decade after decade because many within the sport equate true reform with bad-for-marketing acknowledgment of how bad things are.

The apologists of the sport’s for-profit businesses are quick to point the finger at PETA and the Times for reporting on this video, but it is a mistake to confuse hostility to the activist organization with dismissal of its work. Virtually no one outside the sport cares how PETA got this video or any other undercover evidence of abuse; they only care about the content of that evidence. Unless the sport makes some serious changes, it will be doomed to the same fate as the for-profit companies that once supported it. The truth is that horses have fundamental rights to life and safety, and these rights must be honored. We owe that to the likes of Eight Belles, Medina Spirit and Keepthename and to all the thousands of young horses who will be born to race in the future. They deserve a chance at a better future than the ones they were denied.