Sport Of Kings - Horse Racing Essays - Horse Racing,

Sport Of Kings - Horse Racing Matthew W. Ketron Eng 291-23 Prof. McElfresh December 8, 1999 The Sport of Kings Horse Racing is a contest of speed between two or more horses, usually Thoroughbreds, which are driven or ridden over a special race course. It is technically termed flat racing. One of the oldest known sports, and still popular in most countries, horse racing is also one of the most highly organized and commercialized sports. Flat races are contests of speed between two or more saddle horses, generally Thoroughbreds, ridden by jockeys on specially built tracks over distances from 440 yards to 2 miles. The sport is termed flat racing to differentiate it from the steeplechase, which involves jumping over obstacles. To equalize the competition between horses of a given class, each animal is assigned a weight handicap based on factors such as its age, sex, and past performances, and the jockeys experience. Lead bars are carried in a holding pad under the saddle to make up the difference the assigned weight and jockeys weight. The origination of flat races can be traced back as early as 1140. The first line of a long line of kings named Henry tried to improve his Hobby horses by importing Arab stallions to give them more speed and stronger power. Throughout the Crusades, from 1096 to 1270, Turkish cavalry horses dominated the larger English warhorses, leading the Crusaders to buy, capture or steal their share of the stallions. After the War or the Roses, which decimated Englands horse population, King Henry aimed to rebuild his cavalry. Both the king and his son, Henry VIII, imported horses from Italy, Spain and North Africa, and maintained their own racing stable. Henrys Hobbys, as they were called, raced against horses owned by other nobility, leading the word hobby to mean a costly pastime indulged in by the idle rich. It also lends credibility to horse racing being labeled as the Sport of Kings(DRF Staff). Henry VIII focused on elevating the quality of his horses by breeding to quality bloodlines and this practice is employed to this day. All modern Thoroughbreds have as common ancestors one or more of three stallions, the Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian, and the Godolphin Barb, which were imported into Great Britain from the Middle East and North Africa between 1689 and 1724 (DRF Staff). Mated with strong English mares, they produced offspring with both speed and endurance. Thoroughbreds that compete in organized flat racing are registered in the official national stud books of their country of birth. The British stud book was begun in 1791. Stud records in the United States date from 1873. When horses that are intended for racing careers are two years old, they begin training that includes accepting the weight of the rider and their commands. Although most two-year-olds race, Thoroughbreds are usually in their prime between the ages of three and five, and horses up to ten have competed successfully. Some races are for horses of one sex only, but most races are open to entries of either sex. A female horse is known as a filly until its fifth birthday and as a mare thereafter. A castrated male horse of any age is called a gelding. An ungelded male horse is known as a colt until its fifth birthday, when it is thereafter referred to simply as a horse or a stallion, regardless of age. Champion stallions are of great value to their owners, not only because of their race winnings but also because other horse owners and breeders pay substantial sums for the privilege of mating their own brood mares with these stallions. The expectation is that the offspring will become champions as well. The purchase price of a Thoroughbred suitable for racing or breeding purposes ranges from several thousand to more than a million dollars. The earning potential, however, for successful Thoroughbreds during and after their active racing careers is high. In 1996 Cigar broke the career earnings record of $6,679,242, set by Alysheba. Another leading money earner, John Henry, a gelding, raced through 1984 and retired at the age of nine with earnings of $6,597,947. One of the highest prices paid for a Thoroughbred was about $30 million for the European champion