Keeping horses in captivity is not their natural environment, its highly artificial and fraught with problems (even as we strive hard to minimize those problems).
They are designed to be out 24/7, in large grassy areas, in family herds. Wild horses who live like this have an average lifespan (according to the BLM) of 10 years.
Captivity is probably double that lifespan, 20 years +/- DEPENDING on many, many factors. Healthcare from foal to adult. Regular deworming. Lack of major stressful health crisis like severe disease or even chronic issues like arthritis.
Then when you add in stressful or difficult occupations like racing, you can get a virtual witches brew of problems that begins to factor in (again) shortening a horses lifespan: traumatic injury, sports related colic episodes, lack of appropriate turnout (or downtime) to help alleviate the boredom or anxiety etc. etc.
I'm not so sure horses are any more "fragile" than they ever were, I just think we have better media coverage of the deaths. Furthermore I'm not at all convinced that 3 horses dying during a reality tv show based on racing is really that large. They are dealing with a LOT of horses for that show I presume. A LOT. Shit happens with horses because managing them IS tricky in captivity.
Beyond that, I assume there will be some fall-out from outraged PETA types about this but honestly racehorses are probably some of the most pampered pets on earth! They are purchased for obscene amounts of money and NOBODY wants to have them die (unless they are sick psychos).
I have had 3 horses die on us that weren't related to old age. One was a 14 year old eventer who was found in his paddock in the am by the staff with a broken leg. No other trauma was noted, no other horse was out with him. The vets surmised he had a leg fracture that simply "gave way" during a frolic. We'll never know. Another one slipped while in full gallop after being just turned out and actually slid head first into a tree! Broke his neck. The last one was a horse who must have fallen while out overnight and broke her spine. She was paralyzed when we found her. I only keep 40 horses at my place and I've seen 3 deaths myself that were due to out-of-control circumstances. Owning horses is just like that and as a manager, it breaks my heart but it does happen. You can't wrap them in bubble wrap.
Final note - hard as it may be to believe, there are many high intensity horse sports where the horses simply love what they do. Like anyone who loves to play a sport or does so at a more advanced level, you can feel the joy of the horse. Their ears are up, their attitude is gung-ho, their eagerness to tackle the next problem/challenge.... I'm not a racing fan, I think they start these horses way too young and if I had my way no horse would race til they're 4 years old, however I'm absolutely certain that horses love to run.
= new reply since forum marked as read