I don't know a lot about horse racing, but I think it is like anything else, the treatment of the animal varies by the owner. Some racing horses, are treated, I am sure like pets. However, there is also a great deal of cruelty in horse racing. Some horses are kept in large barns with little human contact. They are merely exercied by a "hot walker" (a machine that horses are hooked to and walk aroun in a circle) and once their usefulness on the tracks is over, they may be bred, sold as pets, or eliminated. In many cases it IS about the money.

My friend is lucky enough to have a Throughbred, former racing horse. Although he never raced the belmont Stakes, he did run at Belmont many times and won over $300, 000 for his former owner. when she got him he was timid and skinny. Now, she has had him almost a year, and he is doing great. he is her 12 yr old daughter's horse and is being trained for hunter/jumper shows. But first and for most, he (like their other 2 horses) is a pet!