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Horse Racing
- This article is about the sport. For other uses, see horserace (drinking game) or horse race (politics).
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times are an early example, as is the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. It is often inextricably associated with gambling. The common nickname for Thoroughbred horse racing is The Sport of Kings.
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[edit] Forms
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 racing is also popular in the western United States and Florida. Racing with purebred Arabian horses exists in several states in the United States, as well as in most of Europe and the Middle East.
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. Exceptional horses can win millions of dollars and might make millions more by providing stud services, such as horse breeding.
[edit] North America
[edit] History
Horse racing in the United States and on the North American continent dates back to the establishment of another course named Newmarket -- on the Salisbury Plains section of what is now known as the Hempstead Plains of Long Island, New York in 1665. This first racing meet in North America was supervised by New York's colonial governor, Richard Nicolls. The area is now occupied by the present Nassau County, New York region of Greater Westbury and East Garden City. The South Westbury section is also (appropriately) known as Salisbury.
Major horse racetracks in the US were built at Saratoga Springs, New York in 1863 and at Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky, opened in 1875.
1905 saw the opening of Belmont Park in Elmont, New York (just outside New York City - on part of the western edge of the Hempstead Plains. Its mile and a half main track is the largest dirt thoroughbred race course in the world, and it has the sport's largest grandstand.
The latest major horse track opened in the US was the Meadowlands Racetrack opened in 1977 for thoroughbred racing. It is the home of the Meadowlands Cup.
Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has its own Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York. The Hall of Fame honors remarkable horses, jockeys, owners and trainers.
[edit] Types of racing
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, Thoroughbred flat races are run on surfaces of either dirt, polytrack or turf; other tracks offer Quarter Horse racing and Standardbred horse racing, or combinations of these three types of racing surfaces. Racing with other breeds, such as Arabian horse racing, is found on a limited basis. American Thoroughbred races are run at a wide variety of distances, most commonly from 5 to 12 furlongs (0.63 to 1.5 mi/1.0 to 2.4 km); with this in mind, breeders of Thoroughbred race horses attempt to breed horses that excel at a particular distance (see Dosage Index).
[edit] Important races
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 of Thoroughbred Racing for three-year-olds. However, in recent years the Breeders' Cup races, held at the end of the year, have been challenging the Triple Crown events, held early in the year, as determiners of the three-year-old Champion. The Breeders' Cup is held at a different track every year; the most recent edition (2008) was held at Santa Anita. It also has an important effect on the selection of other annual Champions. The corresponding Standardbred event is the Breeders' Crown. There are also a Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers and a Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters.
[edit] Betting
American betting on horse racing is sanctioned and regulated by state governments, almost always through legalized parimutuel gambling.
[edit] Canada
The most famous horse from Canada is generally considered to be Northern Dancer, who after winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Queen's Plate in 1964 went on to become the most successful Thoroughbred sire of the 20th century; his two-minute-flat Derby was the fastest on record until Secretariat in 1973. 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. Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, home of the Queen's Plate, Canada's premier Thoroughbred stakes race, and the North America Cup, Canada's premier Standardbred stakes race, is the only race track in North America which stages Thoroughbred and Standardbred (harness) meetings on the same day. The Pattison Canadian International has the largest purse of any Canadian horse race.
[edit] Quarter Horse racing
Quarter Horse racing is popular throughout the entire United States. Quarter Horses are faster than Thoroughbreds, but run shorter distances. While the average Thoroughbred race is roughly a mile, the average Quarter Horse race is about a quarter of a mile (hence the name of the breed). The classic distance of a Quarter Horse race is 440 yards (400 m), but races are run from anywhere between 100 and 1,000 yards (91 and 910 m).
American Quarter Horses are shorter and more muscular than their Thoroughbred cousins, and so are more suited to shorter, more explosive races. With the exception of the longer, 870-yard (800 m) distance contests, Quarter Horse races are run flat out, with the horses running at top speed for the duration. There is less jockeying for position, as turns are rare, and many races end with several contestants grouped together at the wire.
[edit] Mauritius
On the 25th June 1812 the Champ de Mars racecourse was inaugurated at The Mauritius Turf Club which was founded earlier in the same year. It was founded by Colonel Draper. The Mauritius Turf Club is situated on a prestigious avenue in Port Louis, the Capital City and is the 2nd oldest racecourse in the world and is the oldest racecourse in the southern hemisphere.
Undeniably, racing is one of the most popular sports in Mauritius now pulling regular crowds of 30,000 people and over to the only racecourse of the island.
A high level of professionalism has been attained in the organisation of races over the last decades preserving the unique electrifying ambiance prevailing on race days at the Champ de Mars.
Champ de Mars has 4 race events a year such as: Duchess of York Club, Barbe Cup, Maiden Cup and the Duke of York Club.
Most of the horses are imported from South Africa but some are also acquired from Australia, United Kingdom and France.
The island of Mauritius situated in the Indian Ocean not far from the very large island of Madagascar.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
[edit] South Africa
Horse racing is a popular sport in South Africa that can be traced back to 1797. The first recorded race club meeting took place five years later in 1802.[9] The national horse racing body is known as the National Horseracing Authority and was founded in 1882. The premier event, which attracts 50 000 people to Durban, is the Durban July Handicap, which has been run since 1897 at Greyville Racecourse. It is the largest and most prestigious event on the continent, with betting running into the hundreds of million rand. However, the other notable major races are the Summer Cup, held at Turffontein Racecourse in Johannesburg, and The J & B Met, which is held at Kenilworth race track in Cape Town.
[edit] Australia
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For more details on this topic, see Horseracing 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. Australia's first country racing club was established at Wallabadah in 1852 and the Wallabadah Cup is still held on New Year's Day (the current racecourse was built in 1898). [10] In Australia, the most famous horse was Phar Lap, who raced from 1928- 1932 (though originally bred in New Zealand). Phar Lap carried 9st 12lb (62.5kg) to win the 1930 Melbourne Cup. In 2003-2005 the mare Makybe Diva became the only racehorse to ever win the Melbourne Cup three times, let alone in consecutive years. 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.
[edit] New Zealand
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Racing is a long-established sport in New Zealand, stretching back to colonial times.
The New Zealand racing industry is a major contributor to the New Zealand economy as well as local communities across New Zealand. Racing generates more than $1.4 billion in economic activity each year and creates the equivalent of 18,300 full-time jobs.
More than 40,000 people derive their livelihoods from the New Zealand racing industry[11].
In the past year, more than one million people attended race meetings across New Zealand spending in excess of $55 million on wagering, food, beverages, transport and accommodation.
There are 69 thoroughbred and 51 harness clubs licensed in New Zealand. Racecourses are situated in 59 locations throughout New Zealand.
The bloodstock industry is important to New Zealand, with the export sale of horses – mainly to Australia and Asia – generating more than $120 million a year.
A major source of funding for the racing industry is returns from betting on racing and sports, which is conducted by the New Zealand TAB, the retail arm of the New Zealand Racing Board.
[edit] Europe
[edit] 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. Ireland has a thriving thoroughbred breeding industry, stimulated by favourable tax treatment. The world's largest thoroughbred stud, Coolmore Stud, is there. Notable Irish trainers include Dermot Weld, John Oxx and Aidan O'Brien. Notable jockeys include Kieren Fallon, Michael Kinane, Johnny Murtagh, Ruby Walsh and Tony McCoy. The multiple Gold Cup winner Best Mate also hails from Ireland, while the great Red Rum was bred there, before moving across the Irish Sea to be trained. Arkle, rated the greatest steeplechaser of all time, was bred and trained in Ireland and became a national hero through his exploits. The legendary racemare Dawn Run was another famous Irish champion. Vincent O'Brien who trained horses at Ballydoyle in Tipperary, was one of the most successful trainers of all time, in both National Hunt racing and on the flat. Champion racehorses trained by Vincent O'Brien on the flat include Nijinsky II, Sir Ivor, Ballymoss, Alleged, The Minstrel and El Gran Senor.
[edit] France
France has a mature horse racing industry. The race with the largest international following is the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe held at Longchamp Racecourse on the 1st Sunday in October. The Grand Prix de Paris is also held at Longchamp but is run in mid July. The other two French Classic Races are Prix du Jockey Club (the French Derby) and the Prix de Diane both held in June at Chantilly Racecourse.
[edit] Italy
The Palio di Siena (known locally as Il Palio), the most famous palio in Italy, is a horse race held twice each year on July 2 and August 16 in Siena, in which the horse and rider represent one of the seventeen Contrade, or city wards. A magnificent pageant precedes the race, which attracts visitors and spectators from around the world.
See also: List of horse races in Italy
[edit] Great Britain
In Great Britain, 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). GB has provided many of the sport's greatest ever jockeys, most notably Sir Gordon Richards. In GB there are rules that stop the jockey using the whip too much, such as: they are not allowed to raise their whip over their shoulder. This stops them hitting the horse too hard.
Races in GB are not referred to as Race 1, Race 2, etc., but by the starting time. For instance, the "1:35" or the "3:10". Each race may also have a name, which may include a sponsor's name, associated with it.