A horse race is a competition between horses and jockeys over a measured distance, usually around a track. The horse with the fastest time wins, although a number of factors can influence the outcome of the race. These include the track’s condition (Dirt or Turf/Grass), horses’ positioning relative to the inside barrier, their sex and training. The practice of racing horses is ancient, with evidence of chariot and mounted races in the Olympic Games of Greece and Rome dating back to 700-40 BCE. The modern sport of horse racing has its roots in Newmarket, England, which became the center of Thoroughbred breeding and racing beginning in the 1600s.
The most prestigious races, known as classics, are the Belmont Stakes, Preakness Stakes and Kentucky Derby, which comprise the Triple Crown of American horse racing. Besides these, there are many other stakes races. A horse that is “in the money” is in the top four finishers, earning the owner a share of the purse.
Several types of wagers are available, including straight bets on individual horses to win the race and parimutuel bets that combine multiple horses into a single grouping and assign winning bettors their prize money after a deduction by the track. The horse with the highest odds of winning is an overlay, while a lower-odds horse is considered an underlay.
Horses must be properly conditioned to reach their peak performance, so they are given various drugs to help them overcome injury or fatigue. The most common is Lasix, a diuretic that is marked in boldface on a race program and used to reduce pulmonary bleeding that hard running causes in many horses. In addition, most horses are injected with a cocktail of legal and illegal substances intended to mask injuries and enhance performance.
A jockey’s riding skills can make the difference between a winner and a loser, but even the most skilled rider cannot control every aspect of a race. Track conditions can influence the way a horse runs, and a bad track can throw off an otherwise talented horse.
Some tracks, particularly those that are paved or covered, have an uneven surface that may cause a horse to run off the bridle and lose its balance. Often, the horse will attempt to recover its balance by bending its knees. This can result in a spiral fracture of the bone, called a spavin. A spavin is not a serious injury, but it can cause the horse to lose its form and slow down. If a spiral fracture is severe, the horse will be declared out for the remainder of the race. In this case, a replacement horse is assigned to the race. The injured horse is then retired to the breeding stable where it will be retrained. The horse is then eligible for another race, assuming it has the proper breeding credentials.