episode 10:

I wonder what happened there, weird that nobody seemed to press on the issue. My theory: Kazanami correctly "heard" Kisuke's voice. However, the horse simply wasn't telling the truth, wanting to race one last time. So Kazanami, who's actually not that skilled in terms of veterinary examinations, had no chance to notice the ill leg of the horse. Ofc, it's bs that the chief caretaker of the stable didn't initiate an examination either way ("but what would the public think?" - uhm, that you care for your horses' health? duh). And then the female boss also went along with it, knowingly.

So ... was the horse literally killed afterwards? That's crass and shows, imo, Japan's disregard for living beings that aren't of use anymore. Maybe I'm unfair and it's the same in the USA, but I cannot imagine killing a horse that quickly without attempting to fix the leg. I know that some leg issues do require it, but most of the time its a matter of cost effectiveness, where it's too much effort to heal a horse's leg. Would have liked to get more information here.

Btw I thought about who this anime is for, and I arrived at: horse-loving fujoshi. But seriously, who was this anime made for, lol? It's such a niche topic, becoming jockeys in modern day Japan. That's such a limited life choice and doesn't even have the glamour and popularity it might have had 100 years ago. But it doesn't really deliver in any area. It's too shallow for horse lovers. It doesn't show "cute boys" enough to make it a show for rotten girls. And it's animation is rather on the bad side, so not watching it for the visuals either. I honestly think this anime has no right to exist for how niche its topic is. And then Sawano decides to make music for this, lol.