I don’t know how common this is and it definitely isn’t ideal but when I worked security at a TB and QH track, it wasn’t unusual to see trainers who’d set up a portable round pen to give some of their horses SOME turnout.
And I know of a few who definitely gave horses turnout when not at the track and some who lived close enough they’d just ship in for the races and let the horses be horses at home.
I think the analog is the American Horse Council
Home - American Horse Council
And their proposed National Welfare Code
Turnout absolutely counters bone loss from confinement.
I don’t really know how much turnout racehorses got pre-1980s. But I have observed turnout of racehorses increase tremendously in my lifetime.
If you look at the aerial views of most race tracks anymore, you now see the area dotted with round pens and small paddocks wherever you can create a little space.
Hey, I didn’t read the whole paper. But it seems to be just about bucked shins. Is that a stand-in for all parts of the immature equine body that lets you (or any scientist) substantiate the claim that race horses aren’t started too young?
Turn out in a small pen is better than nothing, but turn out on hills and uneven surfaces is (reportedly) the ideal. The study I am thinking of wasn’t just racehorses, but also other horse sports that encourage training at a young age. Although tracks in the past may not have had turn out, I do feel it was more common for trainers to have fields nearby that they could take their horses to during breaks in their race schedule- but maybe that was just my area.
In summary: the “Maryland Shin Study,” as that paper is commonly referenced, is considered one of the most comprehensive studies on bone density development in thoroughbreds. “Bucked shins” are due to inadequate bone density. You can prevent them by introducing speed training as a two year old. Dr. Nunamaker’s findings have been extensively repeated and applied to injuries beyond bucked shins.
From the paper:
1) It seems that horses are not born with the right bone structure for racing. They must develop it. Bone can only develop based on its own experience (Wolff’s Law). Training adapts bone to training and training that mimics racing adapts bone to racing.
2) It is important to change the inertial proper- ties of MCIII to resist bending in the dorso- palmar direction.
3) Different exercise programs can change the shape and substance of bone (modeling and remodeling) with hard surfaces giving faster results.
4) High-speed exercise in small doses seems highly protective against bucked shins, whereas long galloping exercise increases the risk for bucked shins.
5) Exercise programs exist to decrease the inci- dence of bucked shins.
6) Horses that do not develop bucked shins do not develop stress or saucer fractures in their dorsolateral cortex.
7) Horses that do not develop stress or saucer fractures do not develop midshaft MCIII frac- tures while training and racing.
8) Institution of an effective training program for young Thoroughbreds to significantly de- crease the incidence of bucked shins will therefore significantly decrease the incidence of fatal musculoskeletal mid-cannon bone fractures during racing and training.
Point #5: they detail that training program in the paper, which involves speed work for 2 year olds.
If you don’t believe me, I liked another paper up thread that corroborates the findings that working at racing speed at 2 results in horses with longer careers.
Y’know, it’s been…probably 5 years now since I worked at a race track. I was never more than just the barn security, was only there for one season and I didn’t really see anything nefarious but it was also a smaller track and everyone was kind of a tight-knit group.
As someone who knows full well there IS bad in racing, I still often found myself wishing I’d thought to write down more of the day-to-day stuff I saw working there. Those quiet moments between the horses and their people. The stories of the good horsemen and women I got to know working there - I won’t pretend I knew any of ‘em well but well enough to make small talk or chat horses a bit if neither of us were too busy when I was making my rounds. There were times I wished the people who DO think racing is ALL BAD, end of discussion, could just follow me around for a day, see what I saw and try to understand. Doubt they’d all understand, the animal rights types especially are too far gone but there are horse folks with some misconceptions who I think would maybe be able to understand and find a lil’ common ground.
Heck, I’ve thought to myself if push comes to shove and I ever again have to take a low-skill job for a while to stay afloat I could do worse than that security gig. It was a lot of walking and on hot days I’d feel like a puddle of sweat by the time I got home but all-in-all it beat the heck out of working retail.
You didn’t say that in your initial post though. 
I haven’t listened to CBC in my car for a very long time. I quite when before my daughter was a teen (she’s 26 now) because she thought it was too boring, but could tolerate my favorite rock station. I maybe catch it for an hour or less in the early AM when I pry the remote away from my DH because I’ve gotten tired of the Global loop of news. So I definitely wouldn’t have heard it in the car, to be honest I think the only person I know who does listen to CBC while driving, or maybe did, is my oldest brother.
We have Standardbreds, but luckily our local track where we’re stabled does have some turnouts, some of the trainers have built their own so the horses can get some play time, though it might not be too long, at least they get out. We were at one of the few local training centres in this area for a while, but the owners made life interesting so we moved to the track. They had some lovely paddocks, and most of the more southern training centres in this province have multiple turnouts as well from what I’ve seen.
There are plenty of us cbc listeners out there of all ages 
(another good reason I never had kids - I never had to kick the habit lol)
Listener here too. My mom is a big listener also 
as is my farrier haha
When I worked with cattle and the vet was due for non-emergency work, he’d arrive on time, but end up coming in late because he arrived in the middle of an interesting story.
Aside from a brief (six week) period in April-May, young horses don’t usually race shorter races than older ones.
The reason those early races for 2yos are offered at 4.5f has nothing to do with physical soundness. It’s because first-time racehorses (of any age) need to learn how to concentrate on the job, and giving them a “short” first experience is the best way to ease them into it.
There’s a lot happening on race days: crowds, announcers, other horses and people in the paddock, being ponied for the post parade, etc. Much of this is practiced ahead of time, but it still feels different when it’s the real thing. Which is why very few racehorses of any age begin their careers running long. Even those who are expected to excel at a mile and longer, will usually start with a 5 or 6f race. It’s a mental thing, not a physical one.
Anyone who knows how to train animals knows that several, short, successful lessons are a much better teaching tool than one long, potentially stressful, one.
By June, races for 2yos are offered as the same distances as those for older horses. The short races that are carded are for speed specialists, not (necessarily) for youngsters. It’s about aptitude, not age.
Thank you for catching that @LaurieB and for the great explanation. I quoted the post and totally missed that line. That whole reading for comprehension thing eludes me sometimes. 
Personally, I see two big problems for racing:
The costs of producing and spectating, let alone ancillary participation in any capacity, have grown at a pace that far outstrips the income of the 99%. That’s true of most every form of live entertainment. Weird analogy: I took a 400-level survey of music theatre as a college senior. Listening assignments were a large part of the grade. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume that most sane human beings haven’t listened to 1/64th the amount of original recordings of 1910s-1960s Broadway shows that I have. And with good reason. A lot of the performers objectively stank. Even the ones originating major roles. Conversely, I can’t think of anyone in a major musical post-1980ish that was less than a 1 in a 100,000 singer. I might not like their voice. But from my perspective as a voice teacher, they are an excellent singer. I remarked about this to the professor. “DBYC, how many musicals opened on Broadway in 1925? [Over 200] And how many opened in 1995? [Fewer than 10]”. Me: "Oh, yeah. I see your point.
I see the same happening with horse racing. Tracks are becoming few and far between, expensive, and a plain hassle to get to. I’ve had to drive to Laurel on several occasions. It sucks. The traffic sucks. The parking sucks. Charlestown is a reasonably straight shot up the highway but isn’t super family friendly. And have fun driving in WV after dark. The people I know who run race horses up there are staggering home to unload horses at 1am. More than one good trainer has mentioned that they’re in $20,000+ before that 2yo even sets foot on turf. And that’s Charlestown. That’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears for not a whole lot of recognition or money or fun. Which brings me to…
The most important part of horses for most people is being with them and participating in their lives in some meaningful way. Racing doesn’t offer much in the way of participation for the average Joe. Even if Joe is horsey. This is probably the biggest problem racing has. Even above that of having the financial means. I’ve watched polo grow into this huge thing in this area over the last decade and
it just seems to get hotter every year. Some players are rich as Croesus and could own a stable full of race horses. (Though, plenty aren’t). A lot of them don’t ride otherwise and rely on others to leg their horses up for them and facilitate. But they get to participate in the adrenaline rush and that seems to make them very happy.
IDK what the answer is.
Exactly. We also can’t ignore the simple fact that ANY species working at competing at the highest level of ANY sport will experience sport related injuries. The competitors in horse racing just happen to be young horses, the majority of injuries are simply because they are young.
I have been thinking on this and wanted to also add that even life long horse owners really only know what they do, not the other disciplines. Horses I have raised have been still showing well into their late 20s but they were also at a young age allowed to be a horse, out in a large pasture with other horses to run and play.
I see other horses that are lame by the time they are ten or so but the only time they moved was when they were being worked. There is much to be said for turnout time and due to the nature of racing that is not possible.
In addition, there are a lot of horses at a track at any given time. Accidents happen. Some management styles are better than others. There are many factors that come into play.
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