A horse race is a sport that involves betting on the winner of an individual competition between horses. Although the game has evolved over the centuries from primitive contests of speed or stamina into a spectacle involving huge fields of runners, sophisticated monitoring equipment and immense sums of money, its basic concept remains the same: the horse that crosses the finish line first is the winner.

The best horse races don’t always reach their climax at the winning post, but rather in the moment just before the outcome becomes clear. A few yards at the end can determine whether a race is considered one of the greatest in history—Secretariat’s 31-length demolition job in the 1973 Belmont Stakes or Arkle’s six-length routing of an international field in the 1964 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe are among the most famous examples of this phenomenon.

In addition to head-to-head competition, horse racing also features a variety of other types of races such as handicaps, match races and sprints on different surfaces including turf or dirt/artificial. Each of these races has its own rules and characteristics that make them unique. Some are rated and others are unrated. The ratings are compiled by officials and handicappers from the five continents who agree on a rating for each horse based on their performance in elite races during a specific period of time.

As a result of the widening popularity of horse races, it became necessary to standardize the sport and create rules governing eligibility for horses. These rules included restrictions based on age, sex, birthplace and previous performance. It also involved imposing a weight limit and setting aside areas of the track for races.

During the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715), horse racing grew in popularity and became more organized, with rules being set by royal decree. These included requiring certificates of origin for horses, establishing racing dates and placing limits on the amount of weight a horse could carry.

In politics, Poynter’s audience engagement specialist Annie Aguiar has noted the tendency for journalists to hone in on two presidential candidates and follow them like a horse race in the polls, at times to the detriment of primary contenders and third-party candidates. Perhaps a lesson from horse racing—to look for the underdogs in any contest—could serve journalists well this election cycle and beyond.