Horse Racing

What is Horse Racing?
Horse Racing is one of the oldest sports that have been in existence for centuries. It is an equestrian sport, as the name indicates. In the early centuries, Horseracing was considered a royal sport and was played by wealthy and aristocratic people. Hence, the sport was popularly called as "the sport of kings". However, as the days rolled by, people started betting money on the horses and the sport eventually turns out to be a great gambling sport around the world.

Types of Horse Racing
Different parts of the world have the same sport of Horse Racing under different names with minor changes in the rules. Some of them are Thoroughbred racing, Harness racing, Quarter horse racing etc.

Majority of the world conduct the sport as Thoroughbred racing. While Harness racing is very well known in the eastern parts of the United States and parts of Asia, Quarter horse racing has its influence on the western parts of the country and in certain countries in Europe.

Playing Arena
The surface on which the races are conducted differ based on the type of racing. It means that each of Thoroughbred racing, Harness racing and Quarter horse racing have different playing surfaces. Since each of the races is familiar in different parts of the world, the change of the turf is not involved in the arena in each country.

Most of the thoroughbred racings are conducted on flat surfaces mostly filled with artificial turf or grass. Other types of racing like Harness racing involve surfaces made of plain dirt and sand.

The length of the racing tracks differ according to the conditions. The length usually ranges form a length of five furlongs to more than one and a half mile.

Horses
Depending on the racing conditions, the horse owners use their choice of horses for the races. The horse owners usually train their horses for specific distances. It implies that each of the horses in their stable is good for a particular distance of racing. The horses are bred and trained accordingly.

In general, a horse that is to be prepared for racing must meet the basic criteria of being a pure breed. The mother and father of the horse (sire and dam) must be of the same breed and must be of a standard breed that qualifies for racing.

Even after the horse’s period is over due to age or because of injuries, some of them who win many races are maintained in dignity until their death. Most of the horse owners maintain separate stallions for these horses and breed them. These successful horses are also used to beget racing horses for future use.

Gambling and Betting
Betting on horses during races has been done for many years and this has been a favorite pastime for most wealthy men. A number of industrialists and business tycoons put their money in horseracing and the gambling associated to it. Since betting and gambling in horse races have been ruled as legal in almost all the countries, there has been huge involvement in them due to the large amount of money raked in them.

Betting is usually classified into three types namely

• Bet to Win
• Bet to Place
• Bet to Show

Betting on a horse for coming first in the race is known as "Bet to Win". Staking money on a horse to come either first or second is "Bet to Place" and betting on a horse to turn up in the top three is "Bet to Show". The first type of bet brings in a great prize money while the other two are relatively low since their probability of occurrence is greater.

Dangers
The sport of Horseracing involves a lot of dangers for both the rider and the horse. There have been incidents of fatal accidents of the rider too.