Imo, I dont think it is.
I dont consider jockeys to be athletes either.
But this is my opinion, what is yours?
Horse racing is an industry- you commonly hear commentators and horsey officialdom refering to it as such- and not a sport.
stephen.
, J
Ive had one horse race bet in 10 years...it paid me $500 for $20 outlay' I am still
trying to find another to invest on...I think it to be an investment sport 
A famous man once said "There are only 3 sports. boxing, motor racing and bullfighting. All the rest are games."
Wish I could remember the dudes name.
motorsport is sport in the purest definition of the word.
People trying to beat each other to a leather balloon is fun to do if your athletic enough and good to watch, Is it truly sport?
I worked for Tony Santic when his horse Makybe Diva won all those Melboune Cups. I couldn't then and still now don't see the big deal in it. Completly devoid of anything closely resembling sport.
Might go for a quick surf before it gets dark.
Wish it was windy
Would that be sport?
Horse racing only exists for betting. REAL sports have amateur levels,juniors etc. Why not just have "betting" it doesn't really matter on what your betting on.
Enter Edgar Britt. I saw Edgar every other morning from 2002 to 2008. Edgar lived at South Avalon Beach, and I lived at North Avalon. But our daily schedules usually met up at North Avalon Beach. Edgar is the nicest guy you'll ever meet. In 2004 at the age of 90, he was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. I'm surprised it took so long.
Edgar Britt did his duties for World War II as a Jockey, as entertainment for the troops when they were on leave. He told me he rode in India for a chunk of that time.
He's a short man, as you would be being a professional jockey for three decades. Was Edgar an athlete? I would say so. Were most of the horses that Edgar rode "athletic"? I would say so.
I'm surprised that Edgar's page on Wiki is so short. I could write a much better page myself. And since I am an editor and contributor at Wiki, I will go forth and update Edgar's info and profile.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Britt
Edgar was also a source for some old Australian Cockney Rhyming Slang.
Scroll down to "E" for Edgar... I'm off to take an Edgar Britt (sh!t). Gold !!
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Australian_English_rhyming_slang
Edgar walks with bowed legs like an Old West Ranger. Seriously!
manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/jockey-edgar-britt-rides-off-into-the-sunset/
This is Edgar, as I will always remember him.
Edgar unknowingly set a benchmark for a long-lived jockey career at elite level. He's a truely great Australian. He will have a massive State Funeral one day. A living legend.
Is horse racing a sport? Absolutely. Is it an "industry", yes. Is it a corrupt betting machine these days...? Maybe, but I'm not close enough to it to know...
Edgar still states that Phar Lap was the best horse he ever saw running. His descriptions of Phar Lap running and comparisons to Makybe Diva were amazing to hear. Edgar saw Phar Lap race in Sydney. I don't think Edgar saw Phar Lap at Melbourne Cup though. But he is one of only a very small handful of people who saw both of these amazing horses running around.
I have little to no doubt that Edgar would agree that Horse Racing and Jockeying is a sport.
Thank you, and good night!
Would people still race horses without betting involved, Doggie let me give you this insight.
I own 7 horses, my wife and daughters ride dressage. I would estimate that over the past 5 years with the cost of horses,dressage arenas,stables,floats,saddles, I could go on and on but well over 100k.
What do they compete for, well prestige and a ribbon. Thats it,thats all.
There is money in turning over horses, breeding etc but fundamentally it is for the self satisfaction of doing well with their horses.
Not a lot different to surfing really, though in surfing the term is stoked (which I always think sounds a bit corny).
So if there was no betting, well people will always like to think that their horse is faster that someone elses, and I "bet" thats where it started in the first place.
thats where it started in the first place.
Back all those years ago when i could bend my legs fully,i got a job on a New years Day meet at Ascot Racecourse,picking up bottles and cans for $50 or something.
Never been to the horses before and only once since.
What i remember was it was like watching paint dry,especially if you're far away from the track.
Bending down while picking up all those bottles, the amazing view of skirts i got had me walking round quite stiff.
and 
thats where it started in the first place.
According to the Federal Government Department of Agriculture approximately 40,000 horses are slaughtered each year in Australia for human consumption and the pet food industry primarily for overseas markets, the largest of which is Japan but also include France, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg. [9]
Moreover it is estimated that between 60-80% of the horses slaughtered in Australian abattoirs (for human consumption) and/or knackeries (for pet food and other uses) are young Thoroughbreds from the racing industry, most less than 7 years old, and many only 2 or 3 year old youngsters
Thats two sensible statements in a row doggie whats going on, mate wheres that sh!t stirrer that we know and love,
well loves going a bit too far
