Horse racing is a sport where horses compete against each other by running around a track, usually in a straight line, in an attempt to finish first. Horses are harnessed to saddles, and a jockey rides each horse. There are various types of races, including handicaps and claiming races. In a handicap race, the weights that the horses must carry during a race are adjusted on the basis of age (the younger the horse, the less weight it must carry). In claiming races, the weights of competing horses are adjusted according to their previous performances and other factors. There are also sex allowances, whereby female horses carry lighter weights than males.
The most famous race in the world is the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, held annually at Longchamp in Paris, France. Other top races are the Melbourne Cup in Australia, Caulfield Cup in South Africa, and the Gran Premio Internacional Carlos Pellegrini in Argentina. There are also a number of elite races for fillies and colts, such as the Triple Crown of American racing, which comprises the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.
In recent years, the equine industry has been forced to address animal welfare concerns in order to maintain its social license to operate. However, this change has been incremental and piecemeal rather than holistic and comprehensive. In the absence of a meaningful paradigm shift, horse racing is facing an existential threat.
A horse race is an incredibly dangerous activity for the horses involved. In addition to being subjected to the physical assault of whips and illegal electric shock devices, the horses are forced to sprint—often for hours at a time—at speeds that can cause serious injuries. This is why it is so important to support the efforts of horse-racing advocates to push for real, meaningful reform.
The term “horse race” can also refer to an official stewards’ inquiry into a suspicious or dangerous practice in a horse race. Often such inquiries are used to determine whether an act of horse cruelty has been committed.
A horse race is a competition between the fastest-paced competing horses in a given distance, usually around a mile. The winner is the first horse to cross a finishing line in the allotted time. The winning horse is awarded a certain amount of money. The runner-up receives a smaller prize, and the third-place finisher receives an even smaller amount of money. A dead heat is when two horses finish at exactly the same time. Depending on the rules of the race, the outcome of such a race is decided by examining a photo finish, whereby the stewards examine a close-up photograph of the finish line to determine which horse reached it first. Alternatively, the result may be determined by using dead heat rules. Depending on the race, there are also a variety of other awards and prizes that can be won during a horse race.