Back in January 2017, a racehorse by the name of Ypsilanti demonstrated the issue clearly. It would seem as though the steeplechase hurdles have become soft. The horses run through them rather than jump over them.
Maybe that is why Americans prefer horse racing without the hurdles. Less cheating.
Ypsilanti won that race, too. It is all physics. If one runs touching the ground one covers more ground. Ypsilanti seems to have figured that out. Ypsilanti just wants to get back to the barn. Oats, hay, comfort.