History of Horse Racing
1 | 2 | 3
One share, for a great horse, may cost several million dollars.
A share's owner may resell that share at any time. Farms that produce
foals for sale at auction are called commercial breeders. The most
successful are E. J. Taylor, Spendthrift Farms, Claiborne Farms,
Gainsworthy Farm, and Bluegrass Farm, all in Kentucky. Farms that
produce foals to race themselves are called home breeders, and these
include such famous stables as Calumet Farms, Elmendorf Farm, and
Green-tree Stable in Kentucky and Harbor View Farm in Florida. Betting
Wagering on the outcome of horse races has been an integral part
of the appeal of the sport since prehistory and today is the sole
reason horse racing has survived as a major professional sport.
All betting at American tracks today is done under the pari-mutuel
wagering system, which was developed by a Frenchman named Pierre
Oller in the late 19th century. Under this system, a fixed percentage
(14 percent-25 percent) of the total amount wagered is taken out
for track operating expenses, racing purses, and state and local
taxes.
The remaining sum is divided by the number of individual wagers
to determine the payoff, or return on each bet. The projected payoff,
or "odds," are continuously calculated by the track's computers
and posted on the track odds board during the betting period before
each race. Odds of "2-1," for example, mean that the bettor will
receive $2 profit for every $1 wagered if his or her horse wins.
At all tracks, bettors may wager on a horse to win (finish first),
place (finish first or second), or show (finish first, second, or
third). Other popular wagers are the daily double (picking the winners
of two consecutive races), exactas (picking the first and second
horses in order), quinellas (picking the first and second horses
in either order), and the pick six (picking the winners of six consecutive
races). Handicapping The difficult art of predicting the winner
of a horse race is called handicapping. The process of handicapping
involves evaluating the demonstrated abilities of a horse in light
of the conditions under which it will be racing on a given day.
To gauge these abilities, handicappers use past performances, detailed
published records of preceding races. These past performances indicate
the horse's speed, its ability to win, and whether the performances
tend to be getting better or worse. The conditions under which the
horse will be racing include the quality of the competition in the
race, the distance of the race, the type of racing surface (dirt
or grass), and the current state of that surface (fast, sloppy,
and so on). The term handicapping also has a related but somewhat
different meaning: in some races, varying amounts of extra weight
are assigned to horses based on age or ability in order to equalize
the field. Harness Racing The racing of horses in harness dates
back to ancient times, but the sport virtually disappeared with
the fall of the Roman Empire. The history of modern HARNESS RACING
begins in America, where racing trotting horses over country roads
became a popular rural pastime by the end of the 18th century.
The first tracks for harness racing were constructed in the first
decade of the 19th century, and by 1825 harness racing was an institution
at hundreds of country fairs across the nation. With the popularity
of harness racing came the development of the STANDARDBRED, a horse
bred specifically for racing under harness. The founding sire of
all Standardbreds is an English Thoroughbred named Messenger, who
was brought to the United States in 1788. Messenger was bred to
both pure Thoroughbred and mixed breed mares, and his descendants
were rebred until these matings produced a new breed with endurance,
temperament, and anatomy uniquely suited to racing under harness.
This new breed was called the Standardbred, after the practice of
basing all harness-racing speed records on the "standard" distance
of one mile. Harness racing reached the early zenith of its popularity
in the late 1800s, with the establishment of a Grand Circuit of
major fairs.
The sport sharply declined in popularity after 1900, as the automobile
replaced the horse and the United States became more urbanized.
In 1940, however, Roosevelt Raceway in New York introduced harness
racing under the lights with pari-mutuel betting. This innovation
sparked a rebirth of harness racing, and today its number of tracks
and number of annual races exceed those of Thoroughbred racing.
The sport is also popular in most European countries, Canada, New
Zealand, and Australia. Steeplechase, Hurdle, and Point-To-Point
Racing Steeplechases are races over a 2- to 4-mi (3.2- to 6.4-km)
course that includes such obstacles as brush fences, stone walls,
timber rails, and water jumps. The sport developed from the English
and Irish pastime of fox hunting, when hunters would test the speed
of their mounts during the cross-country chase.
Organized steeplechase racing began about 1830, and has continued
to be a popular sport in England to this day. The most famous steeplechase
race in the world is England's Grand National, held every year since
1839 at Aintree. Steeplechase racing is occasionally conducted at
several U.S. Thoroughbred race tracks. The most significant race
is the U.S. Grand National Steeplechase held yearly at Belmont Park.
Hurdling is a form of steeplechasing that is less physically demanding
of the horses. The obstacles consist solely of hurdles 1 to 2 ft
(0.3 to 0.6 m) lower than the obstacles on a steeplechase course,
and the races are normally less than 2 mi in length.
Hurdling races are often used for training horses that will later
compete in steeplechases. Horses chosen for steeplechase training
are usually Thoroughbreds selected for their endurance, calm temperament,
and larger-than-normal size. Point-to-point races are held for amateurs
on about 120 courses throughout the British Isles. Originally run
straight across country (hence the name), these races are now conducted
on oval tracks with built-in fences, often on farmland.
1 | 2 | 3
|
