A horse race is a sport that involves horses and jockeys competing against each other over a course set out on a track. Contestants must travel the entire course with their horse, leap any required hurdles, and cross the finish line before any other riders or horses in order to win. The winner receives prize money, which is distributed to the second and third place finishers as well. This prize money is a percentage of the total amount wagered on the winning horse. If a rider is found to have violated rules of the game, they may be disqualified or punished in other ways.
The saddle to which a horse’s reins and bit are attached. A jockey uses the bridle to guide and control the animal during competition. The bridle also allows the rider to communicate with the horse through subtle movements of the head, neck, and shoulders.
In horse racing, the term “outsider” refers to a horse with little or no chance of winning a particular race. This is in contrast to a “short favorite,” which has more of a chance of winning, or a “frontrunner,” which leads the pack during early stages of a race.
An individual who oversees the cleaning and maintenance of a jockey’s tack and equipment, including the delivery of clean silks for each race. A groom also serves as the jockey’s spokesman.
A race in which the entrants are divided into different categories, according to their level of experience or the quality of their performances, and compete against each other for the winner’s prize. A stakes race is typically more expensive to enter than a regular public race.
In the early days of horse racing, owners would match their horses in a head-to-head wager against one another, with the winning owner receiving half the total wagers (and later, the whole purse). This was known as a match race. These agreements were often recorded by disinterested third parties, called keepers of the match book. One such keeper at Newmarket, John Cheny, published An Historical List of All Matches Run (1729).
A specialized race in which a certain type of horse, such as a sprinter or a miler, is paired up with a filly or mare in a couple entry. The resulting pair is then expected to help each other’s chances of victory.
A numeric performance figure created by evaluating each race of a horse, creating a pattern over its career. The more races a horse wins, the higher its number. Popular proprietary performance figures include the Ragozin Sheets and Thoro-Graph.