Rules of Horse Racing Explained. Everything about the Sport for the Rich

It is not a surprise for everyone that almost all the modern horses participate in racing events and similar competitions on the basis of their strength, speed, stamina, and insistence. The sport of horse racing is quite interesting and exciting for those who like it. Of course, it is impossible to enjoy a competition if you do not know all the rules that govern it, and the given article is going to explain the main peculiarities of the given kind of sport.

All the horses’ characteristics and abilities are divided according to their breeds. For example, Thoroughbred representatives are invincible in their speed, Arabian horses are extremely fast, draft horses are the best in the world when their power and stamina are checked, and so on. As a rule, there are particular rules that determine what horse can be used for racing, how it should be trained and prepared for future events. In addition, it is of key importance for coaches and specialists to find and train the horses with almost equal skills and abilities, which can make horse racing events more exciting and unpredictable.

From the very beginning, horse racing used to be a kind of sport for the rich meaning it was not affordable for everyone. Fortunately, the situation has changed, and almost everyone today can learn horse racing peculiarities and participate in official events. With this, it is impossible to ignore that the horse is the most important part of the given sport. To reckon on successful results, it is necessary to have a stubborn horse with a lot of strength, stamina, speed. In addition to what has just been mentioned, it is necessary to pay attention to the horse’s breed.

Kinds of Horse Racing Events

In general, there are three kinds of horse racing events:

• Flat races. In these events, successful results depend on the following phenomena: horse’s speed and friskiness as well as the strategy chosen by a team and a specific jockey. In some cases, for example, it is the strategy that plays the most important role because a more rational distribution of strength and a more rational and cool approach can overcome even the fastest horse. These events take place on a round race track, a distance of which is 1200-2400 meters. Only those horses that are older than 3 years are allowed to participate in flat races. Additional attention is also paid to horses’ breeds; specialists pay attention to their characteristics and abilities that should be equal. To be more exact, a preference is paid to the Thoroughbred and half-blood horses that can impress with a great speed.
• Hurdles. The name of these horse racing events come from horse racing hurdles that are placed along 2-3-km race tracks. A hurdle is a barrier made of branches; it should be maximum 1 meter in height, and branches should fall even after the slightest touch. These events are suitable for the horses that can impress with quite good jumping abilities, speed, and stamina. Also, a horse should be at least three years old to participate in hurdle races.

• Steeple-chase. This is the most difficult kind of horse racing events. Such races are held on 2-4-km-long race tracks. Only those horses that are older than 4 years are allowed to participate in steeple-chase events. The whole distance is equipped with stable barriers or so-called hurdles. Every single barrier should be maximum 1.5 meters high and 6 meters wide. As a rule, the barriers in steeple-chase races can be in the form of stone walls, quick fences, drains, and ditches filled with water. In this kind of horse racing, the horse’s overall and speed endurance is of great importance. The main facts that distinguish steeple-chase from other kinds of horse racing events are represented by more difficult barriers and the longest distance for horses.

In general, official events are held among the horses that have witnessed a lot of training and are currently showing decent results. It is a common thing when all the other breeds are not allowed to participate in the race if a few Thoroughbred horses are going to participate in it. This is done because you can hardly find a breed that can impress with the following abilities and skills. With this, the list of the most successful horse breeds includes Arabian, Akhal-Teke, and English horses.

Jockey, Coach, and Starter

Nowadays, horse racing events take place both for entertainment purposes and to identify the most powerful representative of a particular breed, which is extremely important for its further development and even existence. Horses start their career when they are 2-4 years old. It is an obligatory condition for the novice horse to overcome a 1-km-long distance. All the other distances are banned for this horse. As for horses that are 2 years old, they can appear on a distance no more than 1600 meters. In a year, they are allowed to run 1400 meter, in a while – 2400 meters. The distance of 5, 7, and even 10 kilometers are held for 4-year-old horses.

Apart from horses, the following participants are also important when it comes to the final results:

1. A jockey is a horseman who does all his best to make his horse successfully overcome all the barriers and finish first. This person should have perfect physical skills, be light, elastic, and be quite good at handling a horse. Every jockey should wear the following set of equipment: tall boots, riding breeches, shirt, and a protective helmet. The shirt should usually be of a particular color that depends on the preferences of the horse owner. In some kinds of horse racing events, jockeys also should wear a guard jacket. In addition, protective glasses should be also used.
2. A coach is a person who is responsible for choosing horses according to a particular weight class and for choosing the necessary equipment. It is a coach who can file a corresponding application for his horse and jockey to participate in a particular tournament.
3. A starter prepares horses and their jockeys to help them correctly start a race. If it happens that a team is not able to participate in a race, it is the starter who should notify the officials of the situation and explain the decision made.

Apart from the above persons who actively participate in horse racing events, there are some officials who serve horse racing tournaments. Thus, they are as follows:

• an assistant who is responsible for monitoring race track conditions and developing a schedule of a race;
• a handicapper prepares additional weights for horses according to the rules of handicap races;
• a weighman scales all the horses that are going to participate in a competition;
• a referee is the main official who announces the results of an event;
• a starter is a person who gives a signal for the horses to start running.

In the given case, every horse racing participant described above is an inevitable part of the great system. That is why an official horse racing event can be said correct and successful only when it is attended by all the persons (both members and officials) mentioned previously.

General Rules

As any other kind of sport, horse racing is governed by a set of strict rules, and they are described further:

1. Every horse should be weighed prior to the beginning of a competition. As a rule, this is performed directly before the race (15 minutes before the start).
2. A horse should start running directly from its stable box unless the referee orders to start a race from a starting gate. Every horse and its box should be numbered to identify various teams. Every race should be governed by a strict order of actions. Firstly, stable boxes become open. Secondly, a special flag makes a signal. Thirdly, a clam should occur.
3. When a false start occurs, the starting procedure should be repeated until all the horses start running according to the official rules. If a yellow flag is shown, a horse and its jockey should stop because this color tells that there is a dangerous condition on the race track. This signal lets everyone understand that a race is stopped for a certain period of time.
4. A victory is given to a horse that manages to be the first to touch the finish strip with its head. In some cases, a photo finish system should be used to determine a particular winner. If the system shoes that two jockeys managed to simultaneously cross the finish line, the prize money is equally divided between them.
5. Once a race is over, a weighman scales the top 4 horses once again. If it happens that a horse has lost 0.3 and more kilos over the race, its result is canceled.

In addition, there are also other rules that can lead to the disqualification of a horse. Thus, they are as follows:

• a horse is disqualified if it has grappled with another runner on a race track;
• a team is disqualified if its jockey showed a dangerous racing strategy and endangered a horse from another team;
• if a horse does not obey before the start, it should be also disqualified.

Every jockey should also meet the following requirements:

• all the jockeys should have a corresponding certificate;
• they are weighed before every race;
• all the jockeys should wear protecting helmets;
• jockey’s shirt and breeches (trousers) should be of the same color with the horse owner’s colors;
• a jockey can be substituted by another athlete before and after weighing for specific purposes.

History

It seems that the history of horse racing is as old as the history of the whole world. Roman wain racing was exciting and dangerous; those competitions attracted thousands of spectators. The best athletes of that primitive kind of sport were real celebrities of their time. The popularity of that sport could be easily explained by the fact that the Romans highly appreciated horses and their abilities.

Over centuries, Arab Peninsula was a stage for live performances when ancient Arab horses, the pure-blooded horses, were overcoming long distances in deserts of this peninsula. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the horses were imported to Britain where they were intercrossed with local horses. It was this way of how the Thoroughbred horses appeared. Nowadays, they are the most popular symbol of the sport of horse racing.

It is difficult to explain the meaning of horse racing for the British people. That is why it is not a surprise that the given kind of sport was one of the first events that people placed their money on in the 18th century. At present, however, about 5 million spectators come to see horse racing events in Great Britain every year. Over the last 10 years, this sport has managed to create about 2 million pounds that were sent for charitable uses. That is why it is horse racing rather than football that deserved to be a national kind of sport in Great Britain. In addition, it is this kind of sport that can impress with a much greater number of women when considered to all the other sports.

Up to nowadays, horse racing has preserved all the rules and requirements that were developed at the very dawn of the given kind of sport. The modern world considers horse racing the noblest kind of sport that respects all its important traditions. The richest people and members of the Royal families regularly organize horse racing tournaments. What is more, these people are always among spectators at these events.

As we know, the athletes who participate in the given kind of sport have perfect physical skills and strong health. Over centuries from the time when the horse was domesticated, these animals have passed a lot of challenges in work and life before they finally become a loyal friend to the human.