What You Need to Know About a Horse Race
Horse races are one of the oldest sports. Over the centuries they have developed from primitive contests of speed and stamina to complex technological spectacles with millions of participants, enormous prize money, sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment and huge amounts of public interest. But the basic idea has changed very little: The horse that crosses the finish line first wins.
The earliest records of organized racing in Europe date back to 1651, when the first horse race was recorded. It was a wager between two noblemen, and it took place at the Paris Hippodrome, an oval-shaped racetrack. Since then the sport has evolved into a massive entertainment industry and a multibillion-dollar gambling enterprise, with the most famous flat races in the world held at venues such as the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Melbourne Cup, Epsom Derby and Dubai World Cup.
Although the sport is popular worldwide, the United States remains its largest betting market and home to the most prestigious races. Most American races are for Thoroughbreds, but some involve other breeds and horses such as Arabians or geldings. The sport also offers harness racing, which features standardbred horses pulling their driver’s cart across the finish line first.
In the horse race, the jockey is seated on top of the animal and uses a whip to encourage or discourage it. The rider’s job is to guide the horse through a series of turns, sprint down the backstretch and into the final stretch with maximum speed. The jockey is also responsible for positioning the horse in relation to other runners, as he or she must know whether to take an inside or outside track and when to make a move to pass other horses.
One of the most important things to remember about a horse race is that it is a dangerous activity. Every year, horses get injured and die at tracks and training facilities around the country. According to the nonprofit organization Horseracing Wrongs, as of press time in 2019, 10,311 horses had been killed on U.S. racetracks and at training facilities.
The horses competing in the race may be shod in metal shoes, which protect their feet from being kicked or crushed by other runners. They may also be injected with a cocktail of legal drugs, including steroids and diuretics, designed to mask injuries or to enhance their performance. The latter is particularly controversial, with some critics arguing that the practice is unethical, and that the drugs can be addictive.
Before a race, the patrol judge(s) will mark a horse’s past performances on the official racing form with a boldface “L.” This is the code for Lasix, an injection of the drug that prevents the horses from bleeding in their lungs after hard running, a condition known as exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. The drug is also a powerful diuretic, and most thoroughbreds receive a dose during the race. This is why the race form says that the horses are thirsty.
