Thoroughbred horse race

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Thoroughbred horse racing in the United Kingdom is governed by the Horseracing Regulatory Authority (the HRA) which makes and enforces the rules, issues licences or permits to trainers and jockeys, and runs the races through their race course officials.

A significant part of the HRA's work relates to the disciplining of trainers and jockeys, including appeals from decisions made by the course stewards. Disciplinary enquiries usually relate to the running of a horse, for example: failure to run a horse on its merits, interference with other runners, excessive use of the whip. The emergence of internet betting exchanges has created opportunities for the public to lay horses and this development has been associated with some high profile disciplinary proceedings.

In Ireland, racing is governed by the Irish Jockey Club. The Jockey Club in the UK has been released from its regulatory function but still performs various supporting roles.

In order to run under rules a horse must be registered at Weatherbys as a thoroughbred. It must also reside permanently at the yard of a trainer licensed by the HRA or a permit holder. Similarly the horse's owner or owners must be registered as owners.

Traditionally racehorses have been owned by a small number of very wealthy individuals. But it has become increasingly common for horses to be owned by syndicates or partnerships. Notable examples include the 2005 Derby winner Motivator owned by the Royal Ascot Racing Club and Soviet Song, winner of a group 2 race at Royal Ascot in 2006, owned by the Elite Racing Club.

A horse runs in the unique colours of its owner. These colours must be registered with Weatherbys each year and no two owners may have the same colours. The rights to certain colour arrangements ("cherished colours") are valuable in the same way that distinctive car registration numbers are of value. It is said that Mrs Sue Magnier (owner of George Washington, Galileo etc) paid £50,000 for her distinctive dark blue colours. If an owner has more than one horse running in the same race than some slight variant in colours must be used (eg: a different coloured cap).

The horse owner typically pays a monthly retainer to his trainer together with fees for use of the gallops, vet fees and other expenses such as entry fees and jockey's fees where the services of a professional jockey are retained. The typical cost of owning a horse trained to be run under rules for one year is in the order of £15,000 or so.

The facilities available to trainers vary enormously. Some trainers have only a few horses in the yard and pay to use other trainers' gallops. Other trainers have every conceivable training asset. It is a feature of racing that a modest establishment often holds its own against the bigger players even in a top race. This is particularly true of national hunt racing. An example is Evan Williams winning the Hennessy in November 2006 with State of Play.

Racing is divided into two codes: flat racing and Steeplechase racing.

Flat races can be run under varying distances and on different terms. See further below. The most significant flat races are categorised as group 1 races and include the Derby, the Arc and the Breeders' Cup. The centre of flat racing in the UK is Newmarket which became famous for racing during the rein of Charles II. Ascot became popular during the rein of Queen Anne. Other important UK race courses providing flat racing include Newbury, Goodwood and Epsom.

Although historically England has always been at the centre of racing in fact the most valuable flat races are all outside the UK, particularly in the Far East, the Middle East, France and the USA.

National hunt races can be further divided into hurdle races, steeple chases and national hunt flat races (bumpers).

The capital of NH racing in the UK is Cheltenham race course, in the Cotswolds, which hosts the Cheltenham Festival in the third week of March each year, as well as other important fixtures during the NH calendar.

There are numerous well-known trainers operating in the Cotswolds including Jonjo O'Neil, Richard Phillips, Tom Geroge, Nigel Twiston Davies and latterly Kim Bailey. However in recent years the Cheltenham Festival has been utterly dominated by horses bred and trained in Ireland.

The highlight of the Cheltenham Festival is the Gold Cup (qv). All races run at Cheltenham finish with a long uphill run-in in front of the stands. The Gold Cup is run over a distance of about 3 miles 2 furlongs and on numerous occasions the hill at the finish has found out the brave. All horses carry the same weight in the Gold Cup. Famous winners of the Gold Cup include Dawn Run (mare, ridden by Jonjo O'Neil), Arkle (arguably the greatest horse of all time), Golden Miller (ditto), Best Mate and Desert Orchid.

The most famous NH race is probably the Grand National (qv), run at Aintree in April each year. The race is a different sort of contest to the Gold Cup in that it is run over 4 and a bit miles, there are 40 runners, the course at Aintree is essentially flat, and the horses are handicapped ie the best horses carry the most weight. Perhaps the most fundamental difference is that the grand national fences at Aintree are far bigger than any fence at Cheltenham, and a number of fences incorporate significant drops. The Canal Turn is a huge fence, with a substantial drop and a 90 degree turn. It is jumped twice and accounts for many fallers each year.

Famous winners of the Grand National include Red Rum (won 3 times, runner up twice), Mr Frisk (the last winner to be ridden by an amateur jockey), Aldaniti (ridden by Bob Champion shortly after he had recovered from cancer; his story was made into a film) and Foinavon (winner at 100 to 1 in 1967 when all other horses fell or refused 8 out, a fence now named after the winner).

1973, the first year that Red Rum won is generally acknowledged as being his most exciting victory. Crisp, carrying top weight (12 stone), had built up a lead of about 20 lengths from the rest of the field. Red Rum gradually eroded this enormous gap with a couple of fences left to jump. As Crisp came into the elbow, a slight crook in the course where the long run-in starts, his jockey brought his whip out to try and encourage the horse for the final effort required. Unfortunately the effect was to put the horse slightly off balance allowing Red Rum, carrying 24 lbs less weight, to rob him in the shadow of the post. Much is made of the huge difference in weight carried by the two horses. Supporters of Red Rum point out that he carried top weight in all subsequent renewals, and yet went on to win twice more.

Other NH races of note include the King George VI run at Kempton Park on 27 December and the Hennessy Gold Cup run at Newbury at the end of November.

A handicap race is one in which the runners have been "handicapped" by carrying more weight, according to their performance in other races. Theoretically, all horses have a chance of being competitive in a race that is correctly handicapped. Examples include the Grand National at Aintree, the Cambridgeshire Handicap at Newmarket, the Santa Anita Handicap at Santa Anita Park, the Easter Handicap at Ellerslie Racecourse, and the Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse.

Graded stakes races in the United States, or Conditions races as they are referred to in England and France, are higher-class races for bigger prizes. They often involve competitors that belong to the same gender, age and class. These races may, though, be "weight-for-age", with weights adjusted only according to age, and also there are "set weights" where all horses carry the same weight. Furthermore, there are "conditions" races, in which horses carry weights that are set by conditions, such as having won a certain number of races, or races of a certain value. Examples of a stakes/conditions race are the Breeders' Cup races, the Two Thousand Guineas Stakes, the One Thousand Guineas Stakes, the Epsom Derby, the Epsom Oaks, the St. Leger Stakes, the Kentucky Derby, the Kentucky Oaks, the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes, the Travers Stakes, and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

A maiden race is one in which the runners have never won a race. Maiden races can be among horses of many different age groups. It is similar to a stakes race in the respect that horses all carry similar weights and there are no handicapped "penalties." This is the primary method for racing a 2 year old for the first time, although only against other 2 year olds. Three year olds also only race against their own age in maiden races early in the year.

An allowance race is one in which the runners run for a higher purse than in a maiden race. These races usually involve conditions such as "non-winner of three lifetime." They usually are for a horse which has broken its maiden but is not ready for stakes company.

A claiming race is one in which the runners run for a tag and anyone may claim a runner via the claim box. The intent of this is to even the race, since you may lose your horse for the given claiming price. Someone may wish to claim a horse if they think the horse has not been trained to its fullest potential under another trainer.

An optional claiming race is a hybrid of allowance and claiming race, developed to increase field sizes. A horse who does not fit the conditions can still run for the tag.

Jumping races and steeplechases, called National Hunt racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland, are run over long distances, usually from two miles (3200 m) up to four and a half miles (7200 m), and horses carry more weight. Novice jumping races involve horses that are starting out a jumping career, including horses that previously were trained flat racing. National Hunt racing is distinguished between hurdles races and chases: the former are run over low obstacles and the latter over larger fences that are much more difficult to jump.

Horses that run in American-style races are judged on the weight (a horse carrying 52 kg is said to have better chances than one that carries 58 kg), the barrier gate or draw (horses have less distance to make up if they start from an inside barrier ("stall" in the United Kingdom and Ireland), such as 1, rather than from an outside one, such as 15), the performance over the last three starts, and also the performance on wet tracks, against horses of gender and class (weak or strong opposition). Time ratings and jockey statistics are also factors in a horse's performance in a race, but they are considered less important.

The draw is less important in United Kingdom and Irish racing in races over longer than a mile (1609 m), although it is significant at certain courses for "sprints", races of five furlongs (1006 m) up to a mile (1609 m). In National Hunt racing, horses do not have a draw because they are started by flag, and line up at the start behind a tape.

While the attention of horseracing fans and the media is focused almost exclusively on the horse's performance on the racetrack or for male horses, possibly its success as a sire, but little publicity is given the brood mares. Such is the case of La Troienne, one of the most important mares of the 20th century to whom many of the greatest thoroughbred champions, and dams of champions can be traced.

[edit] Famous Thoroughbred race horses

Some of the world's most famous Thoroughbred racehorses in flat racing include:

While many of these horses have also made their mark as sires and dams of other champions, there are a few horses who are much more famous for their legacy as sires and dams than as runners. Some of them are: