Horse races have long captivated spectators, and it’s easy to understand why. There are countless activities at the track ranging from betting on favorite racehorses to sipping mint juleps in the clubhouse turn. But behind its romanticized facade lies an unsavory reality of injuries, drug use and slaughter that most observers don’t see.
Race in which horses compete to earn a prize money purse based on age, sex and past performance; winners receive higher weightings than losers.
As racing horses are still developing when they are bred for racing, their bodies are unprepared for the stress of running at high speeds over a hard surface. According to one study, one horse out of every 22 races suffers an injury which prevents them from finishing, with another estimate suggesting three thoroughbreds die daily due to catastrophic injuries during a race.
Beginning in the early 1700’s, racetracks became more standardized and organized horse racing rules began to take form. Races were created for specific horses based on age, sex or previous race performances and eligibility of riders was clarified; additionally a numbering system was devised to uniquely identify each one while color silks were introduced as identification devices for riders.
One of the earliest races was match races between two or three horses. Here, owners provided the purse, while bettors placed bets on who would win; any time an animal withdrew from racing they forfeited part or all of what had been put down with them; all agreements between owners and bettors were recorded by impartial third parties known as keepers of match books.
As dash racing became more widespread, speed and stamina of horses became increasingly important. A race could often come down to just inches; thus requiring skilled jockeys to coax maximum effort from their mount. Stout horses developed during this era became popular “working horses”, helping settlers settle in western regions; these individuals came to be known as “steel dusts.”
At this point, horse racing had become more structured. The King’s Plates were standardized four-mile heats for six-year-old horses carrying 168 pounds over four miles that required them to win both heats in order to be adjudicated as champions. Race formats were refined further for fillies and other types of runners while qualifying rules based on age, sex and past performance were established; finally claiming race concept became widely practiced during this timeframe.