The racing of horses against one another, each ridden by a jockey. The ancient Egyptians took part in horse races c.1200 BC, and the sport was part of the Ancient Olympic Games. Racing was popularized in England in the 12th-c, and many monarchs have supported the sport, which has thereby become known as the sport of kings. The first recorded meeting at England's oldest course, Chester, was on 9 February 1540. In North America, the first horse-racing trophy was offered in 1665 for a race at Long Island. Most of the famous races (the Classics) were instituted in the following 200 years, such as the Derby in 1780 (England), the Prix du Jockey Club in 1836 (France), the Melbourne Cup in 1861 (Australia), and the Belmont Stakes in 1867 (USA).
Racing comes in two categories: flat racing and national hunt racing. Flat racing is a straightforward race on a flat surface (grass or dirt) over a predetermined distance which can be anything between 5 furlongs (1 km) and 2½ mi (4 km). National hunt racing involves the horses negotiating fences which can be either movable hurdles or fixed fences. These races (eg the Grand National) are longer than flat races, and can be anything up to 4½ mi (6·5 km) in length. Bets are usually placed on the horses likely to come first (a win), second (a place), or third (a show), with professional bookmaking emerging in the 19th-c (along with a host of illegal or semi-legal activities), and the Totalizator concept in the 1920s. Horse racing is now big business, with more frequent meetings, larger prizes, and (through media coverage) greater public awareness.
The common nickname for horse racing is The Sport of Kings.Forms of horse racing
One of the principal forms of horse racing, which is popular in many parts of the world, is thoroughbred racing. Harness racing is also popular in the eastern United States and more popular than thoroughbred racing in Canada and parts of Europe. Quarter horse and Arabian racing are also popular in the western United States and Florida.
The breeding, training and racing of horses in many countries is now a significant economic activity as, to a greater extent, is the gambling industry which is largely supported by it.
Horse racing in North America
The style of racing, the distances and the type of events varies very much by the country in which the race is occurring, and many countries offer different types of horse races.
In the United States, races can occur on flat surfaces of either dirt or grass, generally thoroughbred racing; other tracks offer quarter horse racing and harness racing, or combinations of these three types of racing. Racing with other breeds, such as Arabian horse racing, is found on a limited basis. with this in mind, breeders of thoroughbred race horses are able to breed horses to excel at a particular distance (see Dosage Index).
The high point of US horse racing has traditionally been the Kentucky Derby which, together with the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, form the Triple Crown for three-year-olds. There are also a Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers and a Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters.
American betting on horse racing is sanctioned and regulated by state governments, almost always through legalized parimutuel gambling. Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has its own Hall of Fame for horses, jockeys, and trainers. The only challenger to his title of greatest Canadian horse would be his son Nijinsky II, who is the last horse to win the English [[Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing|Triple Crown], and was a better racehorse. Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, home of the Queen's Plate, Canada's premier thoroughbred stakes race, and the North America Cup, Canada's premier standard-bred stakes race, is the only race track in North America which stages Thoroughbred and Standard-bred (harness) meetings on the same day. The Pattison Canadian International has the largest purse of any Canadian horse race.
Horse racing in Australia
Racing in Australia has enjoyed great success with races such as the world famous Melbourne Cup, the so-called race that stops a nation, which has recently attracted many international entries. In Australia, the most famous horse was Phar Lap, who raced from 1928-1932 (though originally bred in New Zealand). In harness racing, Paleface Adios became a household name during the 1970s, while Cardigan Bay, a pacing horse from New Zealand, enjoyed great success at the highest levels of American harness racing in the 1960s.
Horse racing in Europe
Ireland
Ireland has a rich history of horse racing; point to pointing originated there and even today, jump racing (National Hunt racing) is marginally more popular than racing on the flat. As a result, every year Irish horse racing fans travel in huge numbers to the highlight event of the National Hunt calendar, the Cheltenham Festival, and in recent years Irish owned or bred horses have dominated the event.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, there are races which involve obstacles (either hurdles or fences) called National Hunt racing and those which are unobstructed races over a given distance (flat racing).
Pedigree
While the attention of horse racing fans and the media is focused almost exclusively on the horse's performance on the racetrack, or for male horses possibly its success as a sire, little publicity is given to brood mares.
In most horse races, not including steeplechases, the pedigree of the horse is one of the things that allow it to race. In a normal flat race, the horse must have a sire (father) who is a pure thoroughbred and a dam (mother) who is also a pure thoroughbred. In a normal harness race, the horses sire and dam must both be pure standardbreds.
A stallion who has won many races will usually be put up to stud when he is retired.
Betting
At many horse races, there is a gambling station, where gamblers can stake money on a horse. the nationally renowened Colonial Cup Steeplechase in Camden, South Carolina, is known as one of the races which betting is illegal, because of a 1951 law in the state where betting on horse racing is illegal.) Where gambling is allowed, most tracks offer Parimutuel betting where gamblers' money is pooled and shared proportionally among the winners once a deduction is made from the pool.
Types of bets
The three most common ways to bet money are: bet to win, bet to place, and bet to show.
In Europe, betting to show is less commonplace since the number of "payout places" varies depending on the size of the field that takes part in the race. In the US a place bet would only pay out if the horse in question finished first or second, whilst in the UK, a place bet would be deemed a winner based on the aforementioned criteria. Most UK bookmakers cut the odds considerably for an each bet, offering the full odds if the horse wins but only a third, a quarter or a fifth of the odds if only the place section of the bet is successful.
Dangers
There are many dangers in horse racing for both horse and jockey: a horse can stumble and fall, exposing both jockey and horse to the danger of being trampled and possibly killed. The study demostrated that the U.S. sport with the highest number of deaths per 100,000 participants was horse racing:
Fatality rates per 100,000 participants
Horse racing: 128 Sky diving: 123 Hang gliding: 56 Mountaineering: 51 Scuba Diving: 11 Motorcycle racing: 7 College Football: 3 Boxing: 1.3
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