When a horses' ears are pricked forward while racing they are not paying attention to the rider or the other horses. They are focusing on something in front or ahead of them. That's the last thing you want to see when you are on the backs of one these, going that fast. Remember Gary Stevens getting dumped in the Arlington Million at the finish line? His horse had it's ears forward, spotted the photographer and put the breaks on. If a horse has it's ears forward it doesn't always mean it's happy and if they're back, it doesn't always mean it's upset. Where the ears are pointed usually means that's where the horse is looking and paying attention. "Pinned" ears on a racing horse isn't a bad thing either. When they are "pinned" that is their way of telling that other horse that they are challenging them to just try and get by. That is also a good sign of an honest, aggressive race horse.