PACEMAKERS, TEAM TACTICS & THE GREY AREAS OF HORSE RACING
Horse racing is not always as straightforward as it looks.
While most punters turn up expecting a fair contest of speed, stamina, and jockey skill, the reality can be far more complicated.
Take the recent Sussex Stakes at Goodwood in the UK.
The 150-1 outsider Qirat was meant to be little more than a pacemaker — a horse entered to ensure an honest tempo for the stable’s more fancied runner.
Instead, he shocked the racing world by refusing to come back to the field and storming home a Group 1 winner.
Stories like this shine a light on the controversial role of pacemakers. On paper, their job is simple: set an even pace that allows the “real” contenders to run to their strengths. In practice, however, things can get murky.
“I feel like a villain, but when I saw it wasn’t a grey nose coming towards me I kept going,” said the winning rider. “Ultimately, we were there as a helping hand to go an even gallop and we were somewhat ignored early then took a lead off Wayne Lordan.
“Towards the cutaway I was thinking he was going well, but you always expect the horses rated 20lb higher to be coming through. I could see Rosallion coming, but my horse kept pulling out.
Here’s something we find really ‘interesting’ about the use of pacemakers. Bets are accepted on ‘pacemaker’ horses even though the jockeys have been instructed to only set the pace – they have no intention of attempting to win on them.
Their purpose is to help others win…
How is that fair to those betting on ‘pacemakers’ who don’t realize their purpose in the race?
In Australia, the rules are clear: each horse must be run on its own merits. That means no horse can be sacrificed to help another, no matter who owns or trains them.
The idea of “team tactics” — one horse burning up the leaders to set up another from the same stable, or creating gaps that favour a particular runner — is explicitly against the spirit and safety of the sport.
And yet, questions linger.
Is pacemaking happening here under the radar?
Some argue it is — not openly declared as in the UK, but subtly at play in races where certain horses seem to do the hard work up front only to fold conveniently when their stablemate comes swooping past.
Whether by design or by chance, Qirat’s victory at Goodwood shows why pacemakers are both fascinating and controversial.
Sometimes the “rabbit” doesn’t stop running.
Sometimes the horse meant to make the race instead wins it outright.
And sometimes what looks like fair competition is really something else altogether.
One thing is certain: pacemaking ensures that horse racing is rarely as simple as it seems.
SUPPORT OUR WORK
At Meet Our Horse Meat, we place immense value on every donation we receive.
Your generosity fuels our investigations, keeps our reporting independent, and allows us to:
Expose cruelty and corruption in the horse slaughter industry.
Advocate for stronger laws and enforcement to protect horses.
Campaign for humane end-of-life solutions for all equines.
Educate the public about food fraud and animal welfare issues.
Push for transparency and accountability in racing and breeding.
Every contribution—no matter the size—helps us shine a light on what others want to keep hidden.
Together, we can end the exploitation and ensure every horse is treated with dignity.
#MOHM THREATENED?
We’ve been threatened by those in the horse racing industry and those who benefit from horse slaughter more times than we can count.
But we are not going away.
We are going to persist until horse slaughter no longer exists for any purpose within Australia -- and until the horse racing industry makes drastic changes.
We are going to continue our hands-on work to offer lifelong sanctuary to as many horses as possible. We generally have 20 at just one of our locations - at any given time.
We have the acreage to take on more horses as financial support allows.
TALBOT BROTHERS
WHEN RACING WORLDS COLLIDE: BRUMBIES & RACEHORSES (& GREYHOUNDS) SUFFERGreyhound racing has become a major animal welfare issue in Australia, and though it is often treated as separate from horse racing and the horse-meat trade, the horse slaughter, horse...
GREYHOUND RACING CALL TO ACTION
TAKE ACTION - USE YOUR VOICEGreyhound racing is not just a “dog issue.” Horse racing is not just a “horse issue.” They are both manifestations of a broader system that: breeds for profit, discards without accountability, and resists meaningful reform by invoking...
Join us on social media and become a keyboard warrior.
