A horse race is a sporting event in which people bet on horses to win a prize money known as the purse. The sport is regulated by governments in some nations while other countries leave the long-term governance of racing to private groups such as the Jockey Club in England. In the United States, state racing commissions regulate the sport and are responsible for licensing jockeys, trainers, and tracks.
The sport is the oldest of all organized sports, with a history dating back to ancient Greek and Roman chariot races. There is a full description of an early race in Homer’s Iliad, which dates to the 9th or 8th century bc. Bareback chariot racing lasted into the late 7th century bc and a type of steeplechase was contested at the Olympic Games as late as the 5th century bc.
Horses are trained for racing by professional trainers to maximize their potential in a specific discipline such as endurance, speed, or jumping. These training methods include feeding, exercise, and bathing. The horses are weighed before each race to determine whether they have the ability to carry their assigned weight and perform well in a race. A horse’s performance may also be influenced by its age, the race course, its sex (females are allowed to carry three to five pounds less than males), and its jockey or driver.
In a race, the horse must be able to run over a measured distance in a specified amount of time. The horse that crosses the finish line in the shortest time is declared the winner of the race. The length of a race course varies from country to country, but in Europe races are often longer than those held in the United States.
Before a race, warmups are often conducted on the track where the horses are put through their paces and onlookers can observe their behavior and running style. The jockeys and drivers can also influence the horses’ performance by their riding styles. In addition, a horse’s track record can help to predict its success or failure.
Before the race begins, the horses are led to the starting gate, which is electrically operated at most tracks. Once the race starts, stewards and patrol judges aided by a motion-picture patrol watch for any rule violations. If a dispute arises, an objection can be lodged by a rider or patrol judge. The stewards may examine saliva and urine samples from the horses, and winning horses are usually disqualified if they have been injected with prohibited substances. A disputed result is not finalized until all the evidence has been examined by the stewards and patrol judges.
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