Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic premise – to identify which of two or more horses is the fastest over a set course or distance – has been mostly unchanged since at least classical antiquity.
Horse races vary widely in format, and many countries have developed their own particular traditions around the sport. Variations include restricting races to particular breeds, running over obstacles, running over different distances, running on different track surfaces, and running in different gaits. In some races, horses are assigned different weights to carry to reflect differences in ability, a process known as handicapping.
While horses are sometimes raced purely for sport, a major part of horse racing's interest and economic importance is in the gambling associated with it, an activity that in 2019 generated a worldwide market worth around US$115 billion.
World Championship
The International Federation of Horseracing Authorities was founded in 1961 with the task of standardizing international Thoroughbred horseracing practices, but no official world championship exists.History
Horse racing has a long and distinguished history and has been practiced in civilizations across the world since ancient times. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Babylon, Syria, Arabia, and Egypt. It also plays an important part of myth and legend, such as in the contest between the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology.Chariot racing was one of the most popular sports of ancient Greece, Rome and the Byzantine Empire. By 648 BCE, both chariot and mounted horse racing events were part of the ancient Greek Olympics, and were important in the other Panhellenic Games. Chariot racing was dangerous to both driver and horse, often leading to serious injury and even death. In the Roman Empire, chariot and mounted horse racing were major industries. The chariot teams were organized into four different principal factions, each distinguished by a color: red, white, blue, and green. From the mid-fifth century BCE, spring carnival in Rome closed with a horse race. Fifteen to twenty riderless horses, originally imported from the Barbary Coast of North Africa, were set loose to run the length of the Via del Corso, a long, straight city street. The race lasted about two-and-a-half minutes.
In later times, Thoroughbred racing became popular with British royalty and aristocrats, earning it the title of "Sport of Kings".
Historically, equestrians honed their skills through games and races. Equestrian sports provided entertainment for crowds and displayed the horsemanship required for battle. Horse racing evolved from impromptu competitions among riders and drivers. The various forms of competition, which required demanding and specialized skills from both horse and rider, resulted in the systematic development of specialized breeds and equipment. The popularity of equestrian sports throughout the centuries has resulted in the preservation of skills that would otherwise have vanished once horses were no longer used in combat.
In Britain, horse racing became well-established in the 18th century, and continued to grow in popularity. King Charles II was an avid sportsman who gave Newmarket its prominence. By 1750, the Jockey Club was formed as a way to control the Newmarket races, set the rules of the game, prevent dishonesty, and create a level field. The Epsom Derby began in 1780. The first of the five classic races began with the St Leger Stakes in 1776. In 1814, the system was complete with five annual races. While Newmarket and the Jockey Club set the standards, most of the racing took place in landowners' fields and in rising towns for small cash prizes and enormous local prestige. The system of wagering was essential to funding and growing of the industry, and all classes, from paupers to royalty participated. Members of high society were in control, and they made a special effort to keep out the riff-raff and to keep the criminal element away from the wagering. With real money at stake, the system needed skilled jockeys, trainers, grooms, and experts at breeding, which opened up new careers for working-class rural men. Every young ambitious stable boy could dream of making it big.
In addition to its rich history, horse racing is marked by noteworthy statistics. The Thoroughbred Secretariat still holds the fastest times in all three Triple Crown races from his 1973 wins. North American Jockey Russell Baze has an unmatched 12,842 victories. Economic significance is reflected in the career earnings of Romantic Warrior, totaling over $27 million.
Horse racing has also seen technological advancements, with innovations like photo finishes, electronic timing, and advanced breeding selection techniques enhancing the sport's precision and competitiveness.
Horse racing was one of the few sports that continued during the 2020 COVID-19 crisis, with the Australian and Hong Kong racing jurisdictions carrying on, albeit with no crowds. The United States, the United Kingdom, and France were some of the more prominent racing bodies to either postpone or cancel all events.
Types of horse racing
There are many types of horse racing, including:- Flat racing, where horses gallop directly between two points around a straight or oval track.
- Jump racing, or Jumps racing, also known as Steeplechasing or, in Great Britain and Ireland, National Hunt racing, where horses race over obstacles.
- Harness racing, where horses trot or pace while pulling a driver in a sulky.
- Saddle Trotting, where horses must trot from a starting point to a finishing point under saddle
- Endurance racing, where horses travel across the country over extreme distances, generally ranging from. Anything less than 25 miles qualifies as a limited distance ride or LD.
There are also races for ponies: both flat and jump and harness racing.
Flat racing
Flat racing is the most common form of horse racing seen worldwide. Flat racing tracks are typically oval in shape and are generally level, although in Great Britain and Ireland there is much greater variation, including figure-of-eight tracks like Windsor and tracks with often severe gradients and changes of camber, such as Epsom Racecourse. Track surfaces vary, with turf most common in Europe and dirt more common in North America and Asia. Newly designed synthetic surfaces, such as Polytrack or Tapeta, are seen at some tracks.Individual flat races are run over distances ranging from to more than, although races longer than are quite rare, and distances between are the most common. Short races are generally referred to as "sprints", while longer races are known as "routes" in the United States or "staying races" in Europe. Although fast acceleration is usually required to win either type of race, sprints are generally seen as a test of speed, while long-distance races are seen as a test of stamina. The most prestigious flat races in the world, such as the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Melbourne Cup, Japan Cup, Epsom Derby, Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup, are run over distances in the middle of this range and are seen as tests of both speed and stamina to some extent.
In the most prestigious races, horses are generally allocated the same weight to carry for fairness, with allowances given to younger horses and female horses running against males. These races are called conditions races and offer the biggest purses. There is another category of races called handicap races where each horse is assigned a different weight to carry based on its ability. Besides the weight they carry, horses' performance can also be influenced by position relative to the inside barrier, sex, jockey, and training.
Jump racing
Jump racing in Great Britain and Ireland is known as National Hunt racing. Jump racing can be subdivided into steeplechasing and hurdling, according to the type and size of obstacles being jumped. The word "steeplechasing" can also refer collectively to any type of jump race in certain racing jurisdictions, particularly in the United States.Typically, horses progress to bigger obstacles and longer distances as they get older, so that a European jumps horse will tend to start in National Hunt flat races as a juvenile, move on to hurdling after a year or so, and then, if thought capable, move on to steeplechasing.