Horse Racing is an equestrian performance sport typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) 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. Horse racing is one of the oldest of all sports, and its basic concept has undergone virtually no change over the centuries.
History of Horse Racing
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, and Egypt. It also plays an important part in 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 in 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. From the mid-fifth century BCE, the 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. Knowledge of the first horse race is lost in prehistory. Both four-hitch chariot and mounted (bareback) races were held in the Olympic Games of Greece over the period 700–40 BCE. Horse racing, both with chariots and mounted riders, was a well-organized form of public entertainment in the Roman Empire. These horses were bred with English horses to produce the Thoroughbred horse, which is the breed of horse used in horse racing in the UK today. During the reign of Charles II from 1660 to 1685, the King held horse races between two horses on private courses or open fields with prizes awarded to the winners, and Newmarket was the venue for the first horse racing meetings in Britain.
Types of Horse Racing
Three types of horse racing
- Flat Racing
- Jump Racing
- Harness Racing
Flat Racing
Flat racing is a test of speed, stamina, and the skill of the jockey in choosing the right tactics: knowing where to position their horse in the race, when to restrain their horse, or when to ask it to make an effort. Races are held over a variety of distances, from 5F to over 2 miles, under conditions with eligibility based on the sex, age, or ability of the horse. The majority of flat races in the UK are run on grass, but some are run on synthetic or all-weather surfaces.
These tracks are called all-weather because the materials they are made of have better drainage than turf. In cold weather, these surfaces allow racing to continue when it might otherwise be canceled due to frost or frozen ground. The Curragh is the headquarters of flat racing in Ireland and plays host to many of the biggest races of the season. It is one of three tracks that only host flat racing; the others are Dundalk and the once-a-year meeting on the beach at Lay Town.
Jump Racing
Jump races are races that include obstacles for the horse and jockey to jump over. These can be small ones known as hurdles or large ones known as fences. While jump racing occurs all year round, traditionally it takes place in the autumn, winter, and spring. Jump racing’s official name is National Hunt Racing, a reference to its origins. Jump races are a test of stamina and jumping ability, so the horses that take part tend to be older than flat horses.
They look bigger and more developed than the finer, more elegant flat horses. Known as hurdlers and chasers, these horses may have run on the flat in the past or have been bred specifically for jump racing and bought into training later. Jump racing is run over longer distances than flat racing, and the large majority of horses that run in these races are specialists, trained specifically for this discipline. The horses also carry more weight than their flat counterparts because the jockeys are heavier and need more strength to be able to guide their mount.
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Harness Racing
Harness Racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia and New Zealand, races with jockeys riding directly on saddled trotters (trot monté in French) are also conducted. Harness racing is the sport of driving at speed a Standardbred (q.v.) horse pulling a light two-wheeled vehicle called a sulky.
Harness racing horses are of two kinds, differentiated by gait: the pacing horse, or pacer, moves both legs on one side of its body at the same time; the trotting horse, or trotter, strides with its left front and right rear legs moving forward simultaneously, then right front and left rear together. Harness racing is one of the two main kinds of horse racing; the other involves horse racing astride in a saddle.
Conclusion:
Harness racing is an ancient equestrian performance sport that involves two or more horses ridden by jockeys over a set distance for competition. It has been practiced in civilizations across the world since ancient times and is seen in ancient Greece, ancient Rome, Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. It is divided into two main kinds: horse racing and horse racing astride in a saddle.
Horse racing is a test of speed, stamina, and the skill of the jockey in choosing the right tactics, with the other two being jump racing and flat racing. Jump racing involves obstacles for the horse and jockey to jump and is usually held in the autumn, winter, and spring, while flat racing is limited to grass. Harness racing horses are bred with English horses to produce the Thoroughbred horse, which is the breed of horse used in horse racing today.
