A horse race is a competition in which horses are harnessed to two-wheeled carts or chariots and driven at high speeds by professional jockeys. It is a sport with a long history, and has evolved from a primitive contest of speed or stamina into a spectacular pageant involving large fields of runners, sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment, and enormous sums of money. Behind the romanticized facade of this sport is a reality of drug abuse, injuries, and even gruesome breakdowns.
Horse races are typically held over distances of between one and three miles. Short sprint races are a test of pure speed, while longer endurance events such as the Grand National require immense physical effort and tactical acumen from the jockey, who must ride to the strengths of each horse while predicting when to strike for home. The latter event has often been compared to the Tour de France in terms of its testing and challenging nature.
Most horse races feature both Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses, although differing racing organizations may have their own breed requirements for which horses can compete. The most famous horse race in the world is the Palio di Siena, a magnificent competition that is held twice annually on July 2 and August 16 in the Tuscan city of Siena, Italy. Each year, a different pair of horses representing each of the seventeen Contrade, or city wards, are paired up to compete in the race, and a lavish parade leads up to the main event.
The sport of horse racing began sometime before 1000 B.C.E, but only became a formalized sport of competitive racing when people started riding on the backs of horses and calling themselves jockeys. As a result, it is difficult to determine exact dates for the first races.
Today, many races are held in the United States and around the world. Some of the most prestigious events are the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Melbourne Cup (also known as “The race that stops a nation”) and the Dubai World Cup. The most important factor in determining a winner in a horse race is the ability of the jockey to control and direct the horse throughout the course.
A ‘place’ bet means betting that the horse will finish in either first, second or third place and is paid out according to the payout table of a particular bookmaker. In the United Kingdom, a bet to win is paid out at full odds while in Europe, most bookmakers pay out a third of the odds if the horse finishes in any position apart from first.
The practice of strategically framing elections as a horse race has been growing in recent years, and is most common in news outlets that have left-leaning audiences. This type of horse race reporting, also referred to as probabilistic forecasting, aggregates polling data and presents it as a percentage chance that a candidate will win. In addition to promoting the idea that election is a competitive game, this approach discourages voters from voting and may contribute to the cynicism that exists toward politics in general, especially among young people.