Horse Racing Rules – The Essentials a Beginner Should Know

Horse racing is an exciting sport, which is followed by many. It is primarily an equestrian sport, which usually follows the practice of riding two or more horses ridden by expert jockeys to finish first. Identified as one of the most ancient sporting event in the world with mentions in the old historical documentation of Ancient Greece, Egypt, Babylon, Syria, and many other civilizations across the globe.

Types of racing

The Thoroughbred race, which is the most popular racing event nowadays, was formed in Great Britain among the aristocratic community. The most famous races in this category now are the Grand National in the UK as well as the Kentucky Derby in the USA. Apart from this, there are many other types of horse racing also practices across the globe. Some examples are:

• Flat Racing – The horses are raced around an oval or straight track without any fences or hindrances.
• Jump Racing – The participant horses have to compete by jumping over the obstacles as usually hurdles around the track. National Hunt in the United Kingdom is the most famous race in this category.

It requires a great deal of insight and skill to win these races including the strategic and skillful management of the jockey as well as the tremendous physical effort of the horse. The primary races like short sprints are comparatively straightforward without many strategies, whereas the longer races need to be run tactically by leveraging the horse’s strengths and striking for home at the right moment. The most suitable varieties of horses are Thoroughbreds, Quarter horses, and Arabian horses.

Equipment for horse racing

All the jockeys wear a helmet. They used to carry a whip also while riding, which is questioned as a controversial equipment as many use it to whip the animal to run faster. At some places like the UK, there is a limit in terms of the number of times a whip can be used to prevent any harm to the horse.

Scoring

As per the experts at TVG Horse Racing, there is no scoring involved in typical horse racing where there can be the only winner who reaches first. However, in some particular event, there are other scoring categories too as ‘horse dressed the best,’ or ‘best sprinter.’ There are also some awards for the best-maintained horse, and presentation of the horses.

Usually, to win a race, jockey should navigate the horse through the entire course, jumping over all the hurdles and arrive over the finish line first. A photo finish is usually used in case of two or more horses crossing the finish line together.

Horse racing rules

Rules may vary according to the nature of the race and destination. One of the top rulebooks followed most commonly now is the British Horseracing Authority, which says:

• All the flat races should start from the starting gate or stalls.
• The hurdle races and steeplechases to be started from the starting gate or flagged off.
• It is declared as a false start if any horse breaks away before the race starts.

The prize for horse races is significant most of the times, which makes this animal sporting event so popular and exciting. There are many horse racing tourism packages available in the USA, which will take the horse racing enthusiasts to places where real actions take place.