Post by Michelle on Aug 2, 2008 17:59:48 GMT -5
By Kate Carter
Discipline Profile: Racing
*Quarter Horse and Arabian racing to come, but right now, this is just Thoroughbreds.
History
Horse racing in various forms has been around for millennia; the Romans held chariot races as common entertainment. But horse racing as we know it today really started around the early 18th century. Prior to that time, people would hold match races among themselves, but it was in Britain during the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714) that racing evolved, with several horses racing and spectators betting on the outcome. As a result, courses specifically designed for horse racing began to emerge. In 1750, the Jockey Club was formed in England to regulate the sport. Naturally, it came over to America with the colonists. They soon discovered that the new territory of Kentucky had excellent promise to breed horses, and as a result, the fledgling Thoroughbred breeders began to settle there, which led to Louisville and Lexington becoming two of the centers of the American Thoroughbred industry.
The Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is the breed primarily used for racing. They originated from three main stallions; the Godolphin Arabian, the Darley Arabian, and the Byerly Turk. Prior to this time, however, British kings had taken strong interest in horse breeding; Henry VIII, fearing the strong, tall horses would die out, declared that breeding mares must be over 13 "handfuls" and prohibited breeding stallions less than 15 hands. Charles II was often presented with stallions as gifts; when he died, there were "numerous" stallions but only one mare in his barn. Arabian blood continued to be brought in to breed to homebred mares, until approximately 1770, when they began to get better results breeding their own stallions. Hence, the modern English Thoroughbred was born.
Modern Racing
Just because it's a Thoroughbred doesn't mean it'll race. In an industry where thousands of foals are born every year, only twenty make it to the Kentucky Derby, the best known race in America. In the United States, the 2004 foal crop consisted of 34,070 horses. There's approximately 53,595 races a year. Keep in mind that these are races for all ages; you have horses as young as two and as old as six or seven. For all these races, there were 68,569 starters. And for the Kentucky Derby, there were twenty. Fewer than 1% of horses make it to graded stakes.
Training
Training starts early. Horses are started under saddle early as two-year-olds; sometimes, they're really still yearlings. Within a few months, they'll make their first start. The horse will be trained for what it's shown aptitude at. Some horses run better on grass; some on dirt. Some are sprinters, and some need a mile or more. The trainer will take these into consideration. Unfortunately, as a side effect of the push for getting horses out early, injuries are a common event. Both the 2005 Breeders Cup Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies winner were sidelined by injury for their three-year-old seasons.
Conformation
For a Thoroughbred, you want a big chest, allowing plenty of room for the lungs to expand, wide nostrils to help take in air, a sleek topline, and muscular hindquarters. These all help the horse run as fast as possible. Unfortunately, the focus for speed means that many breeders are no longer trying to get solid legs, and as a result, the legs of a Thoroughbred are notoriously fragile.
Races
In America, the biggest races are the three-year-old races, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes, making up the Triple Crown, as well as the Breeders Cup. Only eleven horses have won the Triple Crown.
Secretariat, winner of the 1973 Triple Crown, set records in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes that stand until today. He probably set a record in the Preakness, but a timer malfunction means it wasn't official. He later became a noted broodmare sire before his death from laminitis in 1989.
Cigar won 16 races in a row, including in inaugural Dubai World Cup, tying a record for longest winning streak. Found to be infertile, he now lives at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Seattle Slew was the first undefeated Triple Crown winner, in 1977. He later became a noted sire of horses such as A.P. Indy, Slew O'Gold, Swale, and many other graded stakes winners.
Sources:
www.mrmike.com/explore/hrhist.htm
www.derbypost.com/history2.html
"The Handbook of Horse Breeds" by Maria Constantino
www.jockeyclub.com
Pictures from PBS.org
Written by Kate Carter – Starlight Stables
Discipline Profile: Racing
*Quarter Horse and Arabian racing to come, but right now, this is just Thoroughbreds.
History
Horse racing in various forms has been around for millennia; the Romans held chariot races as common entertainment. But horse racing as we know it today really started around the early 18th century. Prior to that time, people would hold match races among themselves, but it was in Britain during the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714) that racing evolved, with several horses racing and spectators betting on the outcome. As a result, courses specifically designed for horse racing began to emerge. In 1750, the Jockey Club was formed in England to regulate the sport. Naturally, it came over to America with the colonists. They soon discovered that the new territory of Kentucky had excellent promise to breed horses, and as a result, the fledgling Thoroughbred breeders began to settle there, which led to Louisville and Lexington becoming two of the centers of the American Thoroughbred industry.
The Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is the breed primarily used for racing. They originated from three main stallions; the Godolphin Arabian, the Darley Arabian, and the Byerly Turk. Prior to this time, however, British kings had taken strong interest in horse breeding; Henry VIII, fearing the strong, tall horses would die out, declared that breeding mares must be over 13 "handfuls" and prohibited breeding stallions less than 15 hands. Charles II was often presented with stallions as gifts; when he died, there were "numerous" stallions but only one mare in his barn. Arabian blood continued to be brought in to breed to homebred mares, until approximately 1770, when they began to get better results breeding their own stallions. Hence, the modern English Thoroughbred was born.
Modern Racing
Just because it's a Thoroughbred doesn't mean it'll race. In an industry where thousands of foals are born every year, only twenty make it to the Kentucky Derby, the best known race in America. In the United States, the 2004 foal crop consisted of 34,070 horses. There's approximately 53,595 races a year. Keep in mind that these are races for all ages; you have horses as young as two and as old as six or seven. For all these races, there were 68,569 starters. And for the Kentucky Derby, there were twenty. Fewer than 1% of horses make it to graded stakes.
Training
Training starts early. Horses are started under saddle early as two-year-olds; sometimes, they're really still yearlings. Within a few months, they'll make their first start. The horse will be trained for what it's shown aptitude at. Some horses run better on grass; some on dirt. Some are sprinters, and some need a mile or more. The trainer will take these into consideration. Unfortunately, as a side effect of the push for getting horses out early, injuries are a common event. Both the 2005 Breeders Cup Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies winner were sidelined by injury for their three-year-old seasons.
Conformation
For a Thoroughbred, you want a big chest, allowing plenty of room for the lungs to expand, wide nostrils to help take in air, a sleek topline, and muscular hindquarters. These all help the horse run as fast as possible. Unfortunately, the focus for speed means that many breeders are no longer trying to get solid legs, and as a result, the legs of a Thoroughbred are notoriously fragile.
Races
In America, the biggest races are the three-year-old races, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes, making up the Triple Crown, as well as the Breeders Cup. Only eleven horses have won the Triple Crown.
Secretariat, winner of the 1973 Triple Crown, set records in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes that stand until today. He probably set a record in the Preakness, but a timer malfunction means it wasn't official. He later became a noted broodmare sire before his death from laminitis in 1989.
Cigar won 16 races in a row, including in inaugural Dubai World Cup, tying a record for longest winning streak. Found to be infertile, he now lives at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Seattle Slew was the first undefeated Triple Crown winner, in 1977. He later became a noted sire of horses such as A.P. Indy, Slew O'Gold, Swale, and many other graded stakes winners.
Sources:
www.mrmike.com/explore/hrhist.htm
www.derbypost.com/history2.html
"The Handbook of Horse Breeds" by Maria Constantino
www.jockeyclub.com
Pictures from PBS.org
Written by Kate Carter – Starlight Stables