subject: The Sport of Horse Racing [print this page] The Sport of Horse Racing The Sport of Horse Racing
The sport of horse racing has been very popular as far back as records go. It can be considered one of the oldest sports in the world. There are several historical records stating the importance of horse racing that go back millennia. Horse racing was included in the Greek Olympic event from 638 BC. The modern form of horse racing is believed to be originated from the twelfth century. At this time, Arabian horses were fed European food. Due to the feeding of European food items, the horses turned into powerful creatures with an extraordinary level of speed. Horse racing as we know it started from this period.
Racecourses were built in large numbers during the 1700's in England and the Jockey Club was created during 1750. Later, they formulated the necessary standards and rules required for horse racing as a sport. Horses and horse racing sports were introduced in USA during the 1600s and the first racetrack was organized in Long Island during the year 1665.
Thoroughbred racing is the most famous kind of horse racing sport. In these horse races, the horse will be accompanied by a rider called the jockey. The horse will race along a flat-shaped track along with the jockey for a distance of about of a mile to 2 miles.
In harness horse racing, a normal bred horse will be pulling either a two wheeler bike or buggy along with the driver along a mile course. The thoroughbred will be running its own course and the normal bred will be either a pacer or a trotter and it is not supposed to either run or gallop. Thoroughbreds have the ability to attain a speed of forty miles per hour, and a standard bred has the ability to attain a speed of about thirty miles an hour.
Quarter horse racing has also gained high popularity in United States. There are about ninety racetracks for thoroughbreds and twenty nine racetracks for standard bred in thirty three states. The style of horse racing differs from one nation to another and the kind of events. For instance, horse races will be conducted using obstacles such as fences or hurdles known as National Hunt racing and races that are unobstructed in a particular distance is termed flat racing in the United Kingdom. In the US, thoroughbred horse racing will be conducted on grass or even flat dirt.
