April 27

FX's The New York Times Presents: Broken Horses: Special Premiere

"Broken Horses" examines the systemic issues, questionable practices and urgent calls for change that have shaken horse racing to its core.

The world's finest racehorses arrived at Louisville's famed Churchill Downs ahead of the 2023 Kentucky Derby, but by the time the showcase event started on the first Saturday in May, seven of them were dead. In the days after, five more died. The two other showpieces of the sport's Triple Crown series, the Preakness in May and the Belmont in June, were also marred by deaths on the track that horrified spectators and intensified pressure on racing officials to reckon with the problem.

The New York Times reporters Joe Drape, Melissa Hoppert, Rachel Abrams and Liz Day investigate the fateful period that threw the sport into crisis and left fans wondering why so many horses, supposedly in peak physical condition, are breaking down so frequently.

With confidential documents and recordings and exclusive interviews, "Broken Horses" provides a vivid tour of the business and political forces that control the Sport of Kings and resist measures to implement changes that could decrease horse deaths. It is a story of reckless breeding and doping, of compromised veterinarians and trainers, and of fans who are drawn to the sport's beauty and pageantry but increasingly wonder how long one of America's oldest sports can continue to have its social license renewed.