In the backstretch of a race, horses and humans were drenched in pinkish light and moving with hypnotic smoothness. The colt War of Will was favored and took the lead from his stablemate McKinzie, with Mongolian Groom and Vino Rosso close behind. At the far turn, you could see that War of Will was tiring. Then his jockey, Victor Espinoza, gave him a smack on the neck and they charged up the incline to the finish line. Sixty-eight thousand people in the grandstand and millions more watching on television switched from cheering to shrieking.
A horse race is a competition in which humans place wagers on the outcome of a competition between two or more horses, primarily thoroughbreds. The sport of horse racing has been around for thousands of years and is believed to have originated from the chariot races of ancient Asia Minor and the Greek Olympian Games, which were held on unmounted horses. The modern sport is dominated by Thoroughbreds, which are a breed of thoroughbred horse originally developed in England for racing and jumping.
The race is run over a course that varies in length according to custom of the country. In North America, the distances are measured in furlongs (1/4 mile) and tenths of a mile (200 meters). In Europe, they vary between five and twelve furlongs, although distances longer than two miles are rare. The length of the course is one of the primary factors separating sprints and long-distance races, with sprints being seen as a test of speed and long-distance races as a test of stamina.
To qualify to race, a horse must have a pedigree that includes its sire (father) and dam (mother). A trainer who uses drugs or illegal substances in his training regimen or a jockey who races a horse without a valid license risks losing his credentials.
If a horse wins a race, the owner and trainer receive winnings, and the jockey, track officials and stewards receive fees for their role in the process. Most horse races are held in the United States, but international competitions have grown to include more and more nations and regions.
In many races, the field of competitors is limited to a certain number of horses. This limits the potential winnings of each entrant, and it also makes the race more likely to be won by a favorite. This is an incentive for owners and trainers to try to boost their horse’s odds of victory by increasing its training or introducing a new drug that has the potential to improve its performance.
As dash racing became the norm, a few extra yards gained in a race became an important part of the skill and judgment required of a rider. A few more yards could be the difference between a win and a loss, and it was up to each rider to coax every advantage from his mount.
The video from PETA that surfaced last year was shocking, but it was no surprise to anyone who knows anything about horse racing. The sport has been plagued by abuses of young horses, drug use, and the transport of horses to slaughterhouses abroad for years. The growing awareness of these problems has fueled some improvements, but serious reform must occur if horse racing is to survive and thrive.