Horse racing and travel together offer a fantastic experience for the touring enthusiasts to explore new avenues to travel. It is ideal to get some real insights about horse racing to choose the best avenues to explore. The first thing is to be familiar with the horse racing terminology and the language of competition. Without this know-how, it may be difficult to determine whether it is worth the effort, time, and money you put into it. So, here let us try to explore horse racing in better details:
Racehorse Types
Experts at TVG Horse Racing state that there are three primary category of horses used for racing as:
- Thoroughbreds
- Standardbreds
- Quarters
Each of these types of the horse race in different ways.
- The quarter horses race in straight sprints and the total race length may be typically less than 600 yards. You can see them almost flying out of the opening gate and bolt to finish lines. It is more of a flat-out sprint without many strategies to apply. The horse which clears the gate in a straight and clean manner does well. Quarter races may be free for all, as speed is everything when they break out from the gate.
- Thoroughbred horses perform flat out racing. The horses run across the track for a specific distance and speed counts. The typical race course ranges from about 4.5 2 furlongs to approximately 1.75 miles. You can also see longer tracks in Australian, European, or Japanese races. It is not just speed, but there are some specific strategies used. Some horses compete to be in the front while some others like to come from the very back of the pack and running down others.
- Racing tracks are usually at least a mile in length. There is a gated truck running in front of horses which initially starts slowly at pace or trot. The truck has gates on each side of the vehicle, which perpendicularly moves. In the race, horses accelerate towards the gate until it swings away from the animal. The truck finally accelerates out of the track and the race goes on.
Quarters and Thoroughbreds are usually ridden by jockeys using saddles at the animal’s back. In Standardbreds, the horses are driven by a utilizing a cart, which is known as silkie. Standardbred horse racing is also called Harness Racing.
Qualifying For Races
It is also essential to know the qualifying criterion for each race. Every participating horse needs to meet specific requirements as per the race rules. Majority of the races across the globe are classified into two categories:
- Graded Stakes Races, in which there is a unique Graded Stakes Committee, which defines the races for a year.
- Non-Graded Stakes, on the other hand, are defined either weekly or monthly based on the tracks. The prize for the Graded Stakes Races is always higher than this category.
The information discussed above is an excellent point to start and you can gain a lot more insights on global horse racing scenario by exploring the internet resources. Knowing is a better way that will surely help you to plan your racing trips accordingly.
