Horse Racing is Still Relevant After all These Years
It’s crazy to think that horse racing is the most ancient of sports and really has not changed over time, as still the basic premise is the first horse to the finish line, although there are plenty of different races and breeds that are involved. While you can get all the latest news regarding horse racing in the UK from 188Bet, in the US, even a decade ago still had revenue of over $115 billion, proof that the sport is not going anywhere, lasting through the current trends of football and mixed martial arts.
Different Races
White chariot racing was popular in ancient Greek and Roman sports, it was dangerous to the driver and the horse, suffering injuries or death. Today, there are many types, with flat, jump, harness, and endurance being the most popular. Flat racing is the most common form all over the world, which the horse goes between two points, around a straight or oval track. Jump racing takes horses over an obstacle course, harness racing pulls a driver sitting in a sulky, while endurance racing travels over great distances up to 100 miles.
Types of Horses
Thoroughbred racing may be a staple among royalty, but there are factors that must be restricted to certain breeds in order to gain entrance into a race. For example, the horse must have a sire and dam who are approved in that race’s breed. In addition to the thoroughbred, there are also Arabian, which are mostly used in endurance racing, and Quarter horses accelerate rapidly and would not be used in longer distances of racing. The conditioning depends on the type of race, age, and previous training of the horse, not to mention the genetic make up may have a factor.
Locations
While dating back to the 1600’s in the United States, thoroughbred horse racing remains popular on dirt tracks, where as it grew popular in the 1800’s, there were hundreds of horse racing tracks. Belmont is the largest thoroughbred course in the world, spanning a mile and a half, that also houses the largest sport’s grandstand. The Kentucky Derby continues to be a draw year after year, and the people watching certainly does not hurt. Beyond the US, horse racing remains popular in Canada, Europe, Oceania, Africa, Asia, and South America, developing their own racing traditions in each.
Of course, Betting
Probably the most popular draw to horse racing is betting. At the track there are windows that you can walk up to and place your bets for the horse of your choosing to either win, place, or show. With a win you are betting that this horse will cross the finish line in first place, place finishing either first, second, while show in either first, second, or third, which your payout being a lot less for show versus a win, where you can also pick a combination in various boxes, that get even more complicated if you are average fan of gambling on the sport, otherwise it probably can’t hurt to brush up on all the different types of bets.
