Thoroughbred Horse Racing History

Horse racing has existed in various forms for at least 3,000 years. It was one of the sporting events held during the ancient Greek Olympic Games. Horses were raced with riders on their backs and also with chariots. The earliest racehorses were of Barb and Arabian descent, and were suited for long distance racing.

Today, the primary breed used is the thoroughbred, which is descended from Arabian stock. In fact, all registered and purebred thoroughbreds in the world today can be traced back to one of the three founding sires. These stallions were the Godolphin Arabian, the Darley Arabian and the Byerly Turk.

Horse racing exists on six continents today. It is a huge industry in that it creates millions of jobs from grooms on stud farms to racehorse trainers at Churchill Downs. Horse racing is also very popular with gamblers. Some gamblers claim to be able to make a living by picking the right horses at various racetracks. While there is a certain amount of skill involved in picking winners, in the end almost anything can happen during a horse race. This is one of the reasons it is so appealing and exciting for so many people.

The most popular form of horse racing is flat racing. Horses race on either dirt or grass, with dirt being faster and grass being easier on the horse. Racehorses begin their training very early and some of them are raced at the young age of two. However, some trainers consider this too young and will only start three-year old horses. This gives the horse time to develop and makes it less likely to break down while racing.

Many times horses are retired after only racing for a year or slightly longer. This was not always the case, though. Years ago it was common for a racehorse to have a career that spanned four or five years. Nowadays, however, the risk of injury is too great. Racehorse owners want to retire their winning horse to stud, where they can make money by offering breeding services.

Not all thoroughbreds are cut out for horse racing. Some of them are not fast enough, or can’t ever be made to relax at the starting gate or in-front of large groups of people. Some of these racehorses are sold at auction, where horse enthusiasts can buy them cheaply. These racehorses are then turned into riding horses and either go on to become show horses or simply become pleasure horses.