Horse races have entranced spectators for centuries, from the Greek Olympic Games when riders rode bareback and hitched their horses to chariots to today’s high-tech betting parlors. A day at the track offers a feast for the senses, with food and drink from top-notch restaurants and eateries and the chance to win big on your picks for the favorite. You can even get a taste of the action by betting on races from the comfort of your own home.
A thoroughbred race is a competition in which horses are paced and then jockeyed to reach the finish line first. A successful race requires a combination of training, nutrition and luck, as well as the skills of the rider to guide the horse through the course of the race. The race’s rules and procedures vary widely depending upon the race type, with different races requiring the horses to run a specific number of laps or to jump certain obstacles, for example. A race’s grade, which is determined by the size of its purse and other factors, designates the level of competition in that event.
In addition to the spectacle of the horses and their riders, there is a wealth of terms used in horse racing to describe different aspects of the sport. The following glossary provides an explanation of many of these terms and how to use them:
Handicap: A race in which the racing secretary or track handicapper assigns weights designed to equalize the winning chances of entrants. A good handicapper is able to study the history of a horse’s previous performances in order to determine how much each of its competitors should weigh.
Pace: The speed at which a race is run. A slow pace usually means a close race, while a fast pace often indicates a wide open field of runners.
Overlay: A wager placed on a horse that has an expected probability of winning that is higher than the odds at which it is being offered. A good overlay is one that will pay out a larger amount than the total sum bet on the horse, after a deduction of a percentage by the track.
Behind the romanticized facade of horse racing is a world of injuries, drug abuse and gruesome breakdowns that ultimately end in the slaughterhouse. Trainers over-medicate and over-train the horses, causing them to break down and, most frequently, to be euthanized or sent to auction where they are purchased for slaughter. Random drug testing has revealed a great deal of doping in the industry. This practice, which is legal, has created an environment where young horses in peak physical condition can become broken down, resulting in an untimely death by euthanasia or slaughter.