Horse Racing

Horse Racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport, and it’s one of the most ancient of all sports; it involves two or more jockeys riding their horses and they compete with each other over a set distance, to know which of those horses is the fastest one, to win the race and get the prize.

Its quite an interesting sport, which has spread almost everywhere; however even with that worldwide spread, every country has developed its own particular racing traditions. For example, variations include restricting races to special kind of breeds, running over different distances, different track surfaces, running over obstacles and running in different gaits.

Horse racing is a big business which has an effect on the economy; however, even as a race sport, it has a strong relationship with gambling, It attracts the wagers from all over the world;, gambling needs consideration, chance and prizes. Moreover it is a major international commercial activity, an activity that in 2008 generated a world-wide market worth around US$ 115 billion, according to Wikipedia.com.

Horse racing history

 

Horse Racing is one of the oldest sporting events that still remain popular around the world, and it has been practiced widely since ancient times. The records show that horse racing has accrued in many different places, such as ancient Greece, Rome, Syria and Egypt. In addition we can find a lot of stories about horse racing that have a relationship with myth and legend, which means it has had a huge popularity since that time till now.

One of the most popular sports in ancient Greece and Rome was chariot racing. By 648 BC chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics, even with the risks that chariot racing can bring death to both driver and the horse or it can cause serious injury.

Later on, this sport was popular with aristocrats and royalty of British society because it was thoroughbred racing which gave it the title "Sport of Kings"; as we can notice nowadays, the pure-bred horses are very rare and expensive and the owners often were kings or members of royal families.

Equestrian sports provided entertainment for crowds and honed the excellent horsemanship that was needed in the battle. Horse racing required unique skills and demands from both horse and rider. As a result of that relationship and popularity of horse racing, special breeds and equipment appear for each sport. In addition that popularity through the decades saved the skills from disappearing, because horses were used in the races, or in specific areas.

Types of horse racing

 

Horse racing has many different types and in this report I will talk about three of them,

The first type of horse racing is called flat racing and it is a form of horse racing which involves galloping over a straight level track at a predetermined distance. It’s the most common one, and seen worldwide. Flat racing is a test of speed, stamina, and the skill of the jockey – the person who rides the horse in horse races - in determining when to restrain the horse or to impel it. Many different horse breeds are used in flat racing worldwide, but the thoroughbred is the most dominant. The thoroughbred is a horse breed and it is best known for its use in horse racing. The tracks in flat racing are oval in shape and have a straight level.

 Flat racing takes place on track surfaces suitable for horses. Worldwide, the most common is a natural grass surface, called turf. In North America, the most common surface is a harrowed dirt surface. Furthermore, flat races are run between a distances of 5 – 20 furlongs. There are short races called sprints and the longer ones known as routes in the US; however the sprint races test the speed of the horses, while long distance races test the stamina of the horses. In addition the most prestigious flat races in the world, such as the Epsom Derby, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Dubai World Cup are measuring the stamina and the speed of horses because these races are over distances in the middle of that range.

 

The second type is called jump racing or jumps racing; it is also known as steeplechasing or National Hunt racing in the UK and Ireland, in which competitors are required to jump over ditch obstacles. Jump racing is divided into two parts, steeplechasing and hurdling, according to the type and size of the obstacles. Hurdles are smaller obstacles than steeplechase fences. Furthermore the most famous steeplechase in the world is called the Grand National and it’s located in Liverpool.

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, moving on to hurdling after a year or so, and then, if they showed capability, move on to steeple-chasing.

The last type of horse racing is called endurance racing; it is an equestrian sport based on controlled extreme-long distance races. It involves international competitions organized by International Federation for Equestrian Sports (IFE). The length in this race varies greatly; some races are one hundred miles and some of them need multiple days to finish the races if they were over one hundred miles, while others can be very short, around ten miles. Based on that difference in length, these races can be organized into five parts:

* Pleasure rides (10–20 miles),

* Non-competitive trail rides (21–27 miles)

* Competitive trail rides (20–45 miles)

* Progressive trail rides (25–60 miles)

* Endurance rides (40–100 miles in one day, up to 250 miles (400 km) in multiple days)

The Arabian breed mostly dominates the top level and the first places in this type of race, because of their natural abilities and their stamina, as Arabian breeds are known for their strength and unique skills. Furthermore, endurance races could be any distance worldwide, for a one day competition they are around 160 km.

The modern endurance racing started in California in 1955, and the first race was a one-hundred-mile, day long event starting in Squaw Valley and ending in Auburn; it was the Tevis Cup. The Mongol Derby is considered as the longest endurance race and it is around 517 miles long.

Breeds

There are many horse breeding stables around the world and in most races, entry must be only for certain breeds, that is the horse must have a father (sire) and a mother (dam). In addition in many normal races, the horse’s sire and dam must be pure standardbreds.

Throughbred

 

As I mentioned at the top of this report, the thoroughbred is a horse breed and it is best known for its use in horse racing; this breed is considered hot-blooded and it is known for its speed and spirit.

Arabian horses

 

Arabian horses are known for their stamina over long distances, and they were developed by Bedouin people of the Middle East, so they can outrun their enemies. In 1725, the Arabian was introduced in the US. The Arabian horse nowadays is usually used in endurance racing, because it has the ability to travel longer distance in a short time, fastest speed. These horses are able to work hard for extend period of time, because of their muscles. However the Arabian could also compete in traditional races in many countries.

As we saw, this sport started from a long time ago, and remains until these days for several reasons, because of the horse racing competition and the organizations that serve the horses and develop them towards a bright future. There are many different kinds of racing and every one of them has an interesting story behind it with interesting information. The flat racing is the most common race, and is seen worldwide; the jump racing needs a strong light horse and it has many risks to both horse and rider lives. The last type of horse racing is endurance racing which needs strong horses that can work and run for long distances in a short time.

References:

Endurance riding. (2014, November 12). Retrieved December 11, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endurance_riding

Arabian horse. (2014, November 12). Retrieved December 11, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_horse

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (n.d.). Horse racing (sport). Retrieved December 11, 2014, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/272329/horse-racing