With the Preakness Stakes taking place tomorrow night, millions of Americans will gather to gamble, party, and cheer for their favorite horses. Fans will place bets, celebrities will crowd the stands, and the sportsbook will make millions. But while the Triple Crown is celebrated as one of America’s greatest sports traditions, many people ignore the darker side of horse racing and the way some of the horses are treated behind the scenes.

With the Triple Crown’s traditions, pageantry, and gambling, the horse racing industry continues to face criticism over horse deaths, promoting addiction, and animal cruelty. To give some context, this year’s Kentucky Derby winner was Golden Tempo, winning the race with 23-1 odds in front of 150,000 fans at Churchill Downs. The event generated record-breaking gambling numbers, with over $225 million bet on the race alone and nearly $487 million wagered during Derby week. 

As sports betting has become more normalized, it feels like people care more about the money than the horses themselves. This has caused many horses to be abused or even killed. Animal rights groups have criticized Churchill Downs after multiple horse deaths in recent years. According to PETA, in 2023 at least 13 horses died racing or training. Many of these horses are forced to run at dangerous speeds, putting enormous pressure on their bodies.

The abuse goes beyond race-day injuries. Trainers have faced accusations of using performance-enhancing drugs and painkillers to keep injured horses racing. One of the biggest scandals involved trainer Bob Baffert after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a drug test in 2021. Some horses are also whipped repeatedly during races to force them to run faster, even when exhausted or injured. Once their racing careers are over, not all horses are guaranteed safe retirement homes; some end up neglected or sent overseas to a slaughterhouse.

While people may argue that the Triple Crown is an important historical American tradition. I believe it has become an outdated form of entertainment made for gamblers and celebrity Instagram posts. I’m not very radical for animal rights; I still eat meat and consume animal products. I have never thought hunting was bad if regulated, but abusing animals for our amusement isn’t something we should support or participate in.

People shouldn’t ignore the suffering of animals just because of some bets; we have many more forms of entertainment now in 2026 than we did 152 years ago when the Triple Crown started.