Entertainment, Sports

What Are The Different Types of Horse Races? A Guide for Beginners!

Want to know more about horse racing as a sport? It is an enjoyable activity which involves physical exertion. Participating in a sport is a skill which not many have. Typically in sports, two or more players are competing with each other.

In yesteryear, games were played for entertainment, but now it has become a source of income and players have taken it very seriously, and whenever they play, they face the situation of “do or die.”  That is the competition prevailing now.

Horse-Races

History of horse racing

Horse racing is one of the most important and entertainment providing sports.  If pages of history are turned, we can find that horse racing was done even in ancient days also. Horseracing is a sport where jockeys ride two or more horses for a set distance.  Horse racing is done mainly as a competition.  The horse coming first in the race wins the game.  The jockey of that horse gets the award. You need to know about Todays Horse racing to set your bet in a horse race.

There are different types of horse racing, and some of them are mentioned below: 

  • Flat racing: It is the standard racing sport. The tracks used in this kind of racing are oval in shape. The distance may be short or long depending on the competition criteria.
  • Handicap races: Here every horse is allotted weight based on the ability of the horse to carry.
  • Jump racing: This sort of racking involves horse racing and jumping of horses on hurdles during the race.
  • Endurance racing: The length of an endurance race differs. Being both short and long, it always maintains the interest in the players. Endurance rides may be done for approximately 40-100 miles per day.

Maintenance of racing horses 

One cannot assume whether other horses are treated well or not, but the horses selected for the race are well maintained.  The food given to the horses is very selective and highly rich food. The reason may be because it is very much required in horse racing.  In ancient days, horse races were conducted for entertainment purpose.  The jockeys used to make the horses jump on obstacles, for long distances or running on different surfaces.

A professional rider is a must for racing horses because otherwise the training imparted may not be up to the mark.

 Conclusion

It is hard to judge how far it is fair to gamble or bet on an animal.  There is no doubt that horse runs faster but is it not wrong to misuse its skill. Sometimes, it is found that the horses are beaten during training or if it does not win. This form of physical punishment is not only damaging for the horse, but it is also considered a crime on the grounds of animal cruelty.

Horse racing is exciting to view but involves a great danger both for the jockey and the horse. Both may tumble down and get injured while racing.

Image Credit: Jessica Cross

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