Sport Of Kings free essay sample

# 8211 ; Horse Racing Essay, Research Paper Matthew W. Ketron Eng 291-23 Prof. McElfresh December 8, 1999 The Sport of Kings Horse Racing is a competition of velocity between two or more Equus caballuss, normally Thoroughbreds, which are driven or ridden over a particular race class. It is technically termed level racing. One of the oldest known athleticss, and still popular in most states, Equus caballus racing is besides one of the most extremely organized and commercialized athleticss. Flat races are competitions of velocity between two or more saddle Equus caballuss, by and large Thoroughbreds, ridden by jockeys on specially built paths over distances from 440 paces to 2 stat mis. The athletics is termed level rushing to distinguish it from the steeplechase, which involves leaping over obstructions. To equalise the competition between Equus caballuss of a given category, each animate being is assigned a weight disability based on factors such as its age, sex, and past public presentations, and the jockey # 8217 ; s experience. Lead bars are carried in a keeping tablet under the saddle to do up the difference the assigned weight and jockey # 8217 ; s weight. The inception of level races can be traced back every bit early as 1140. The first line of a long line of male monarchs named Henry tried to better his Hobby Equus caballuss by importing Arab entires to give them more velocity and stronger power. Throughout the Crusades, from 1096 to 1270, Turkish horse Equus caballuss dominated the larger English warhorses, taking the Crusaders to purchase, gaining control or steal their portion of the entires. After the War or the Roses, which decimated England # 8217 ; s Equus caballus population, King Henry aimed to reconstruct his horse. Both the male monarch and his boy, Henry VIII, imported Equus caballuss from Italy, Spain and North Africa, and maintained their ain racing stable. Henry # 8217 ; s Hobbys, as they were called, raced against Equus caballuss owned by other aristocracy, taking the word # 8220 ; avocation # 8221 ; to intend a # 8220 ; dearly-won interest indulged in by the idle rich. # 8221 ; It besides lends credibleness to horse rushing being labeled as the Sport of Kings ( DRF Staff ) . Henry VIII focused on promoting the quality of his Equus caballuss by engendering to quality lineages and this pattern is employed to this twenty-four hours. # 8220 ; All modern Thoroughbreds have as common ascendants one or more of three entires, 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 ) . # 8221 ; Mated with strong English female horses, they produced offspring with both velocity and endurance. Thoroughbreds that compete in organized level racing are registered in the official national he-man books of their state of birth. The British he-man book was begun in 1791. Stud records in the United States day of the month from 1873. When Equus caballuss that are intended for rushing callings are two old ages old, they begin developing that includes accepting the weight of the rider and their bids. Although most two-year-olds race, Thoroughbreds are normally in their prime between the ages of three and five, and horses up to 10s have competed successfully. Some races are for Equus caballuss of one sex merely, but most races are unfastened to entries of either sex. A female Equus caballus is known as a filly until its 5th birthday and as a female horse thenceforth. A unsexed male Equus caballus of any age is called a gelding. An ungelded male Equus caballus is known as a colt until its 5th birthday, when it is thenceforth referred to merely as a Equus caballus or a entire, irrespective of age. Champion entires are of great value to their proprietors, non merely because of their race profitss but besides because other Equus caballus proprietors and breeders pay significant amounts for the privilege of copulating their ain brood female horses with these entires. The outlook is that the progeny will go title-holders as good. The purchase monetary value of a Thoroughbred suitable for rushing or engendering intents ranges from several thousand to more than a million dollars. The gaining potency, nevertheless, for successful Thoroughbreds during and after their active racing callings is high. In 1996 Cigar broke the calling net incomes record of $ 6,679,242, set by Alysheba. Another taking money earner, John Henry, a gelding, raced through 1984 and retired at the age of nine with net incomes of $ 6,597,947. One of the highest monetary values paid for a Thoroughbred was about $ 30 million for the European title-holder Storm Bird, purchased by a mob of American breeders in 1981. # 8220 ; New entires for the twelvemonth 2000 will include Kentucky Derby/Preakness victors Silver Charm and Charismatic top the dramatis personae of new entires for 2000. However, it # 8217 ; s the grade I-winning Forestry who will hold the highest-priced stud fee of $ 50,000 # 8221 ; ( Bloodhorse Interactive ) . Unlike the tribunals or playing Fieldss used in many other athleticss, racecourses are non unvarying in building and size. # 8220 ; Major paths in the United States are ellipses runing from? stat mi to 1? of a stat mi in perimeter, composed of an outer loam or sand racing strip # 8221 ; ( Track Facts ) . Most paths besides have parallel interior grass, or sod, classs. Paths overseas are turf classs by and large triangular in form. Horses on U.S. and Canadian paths ever race in a anticlockwise way ; in the United Kingdom and elsewhere some races are anticlockwise, others are clockwise. Some paths are celebrated as the sites of specific races. Particularly good known are the three authoritative races for three-year-olds in the United States, known as the Triple Crown: the Kentucky Derby, held at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky ; the Preakness Stakes, at Pimlico, near Baltimore, Maryland ; and the Belmont Stakes, at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, near New York City. Merely 11 Equus caballuss have been Triple Crown victors, capturing all three races in a individual twelvemonth: # 8220 ; Sir Barton ( 1919 ) , Gallant Fox ( 1930 ) , Omaha ( 1935 ) , War Admiral ( 1937 ) , Whirlaway ( 1941 ) , Count Fleet ( 1943 ) , Assault ( 1946 ) , Citation ( 1948 ) , Secretariat ( 1973 ) , Seattle Slew ( 1971 ) , and Affirmed ( 1978 ) # 8221 ; ( Churchill Downs ) . Most Pedigree races in the United States are held at distances runing from six furlongs to two stat mis. A furlong is one eighth of a stat mi. Races are classified as bets, disability, allowance, or claiming events. To equalise competition, two-year-old Equus caballuss race merely against each other, non against older Equus caballuss. Many races are restricted to merely three twelvemonth olds such as the Triple Crown. Another race limitation that is platitude is races merely for female Equus caballuss. There are basically five different types of races that prove the category of a Equus caballus. Stakes races normally involve Equus caballuss of the same age and sex, all of which are ab initio assigned the same weight. Certain tax write-offs may be made subsequently. An illustration, three-year-olds are frequently allowed to transport less weight than older Equus caballuss. Stakes races derive at that place name from the interest, or entry fee, proprietors must pay ( Turfway ) . These fees, to which the path adds a bag, or part, set up the entire sum from which value money is paid to the first, 2nd, 3rd and 4th topographic point closers. Within the bets race class there are are four sub-catagories they include: path based interest, grade three, grade two, and grade one. Rate one bets races consist of the upper echelon Equus caballuss and top bags. Handicap races are events in which Equus caballuss are assigned specific weights based upon their race records. The Equus caballus considered superior is assigned the highest weight, with the less accepted Equus caballuss having proportionally lighter disabilities. Lead bars would be placed in the keeping tablet under the saddle to weigh down the favorite Equus caballus. Weight differences of 15 to twenty lbs are platitude in these events. Entries in allowance races are judged on their past public presentations. The path functionary known as the racing secretary takes into the history the figure of races won and money earned. Allowance races typically have Equus caballuss of about the same ability matched against one another. Another similar type of race is the inaugural particular weights. Horses that have neer won a race are classified as maidens. These races consist of five to twelve non-winners bunched together to make up ones mind a first clip victor. Claiming races are an chance to sell or buy a Equus caballus. The merchandising monetary value of the entered Equus caballuss is stipulated before the race, allowing a purchaser the chance to do a claim for that sum. The purchaser takes ownership of the Equus caballus at the completion of the race, irrespective of its public presentation. If two or more interested parties claim the same Equus caballus at the same monetary value, tonss are drawn to find the winning offer. Knowing proprietors and trainers may utilize claiming races to obtain at deal monetary values Equus caballuss whose former proprietors underestimated the potency of their animate beings. The 1999 Kentucky Derby victor Charismatic prior to winning the Derby was entered in a $ 30,000 claiming race ( CD Online ) . Anyone could hold claimed Charismatic and unwittingly purchased a future Derby victor. With several different catagories and category of races, paths incorporate the types and offer nine or ten races per twenty-four hours. Most paths operate in the afternoon. Several back-to-back yearss or hebdomads of rushing at a path is called a meet. Horse races follow a purely organized process. Horses are saddled and jockeys mount in the paddock country in full position of the witnesss. Often escorted by outriders and riders on lead ponies, the Equus caballuss are lead onto the path. This journey to the gate is called the station parade. The Equus caballuss are so positioned in single stables within the get downing gate, located at the get downing line. When the field is equally aligned, the started presses a button to open the stall Gatess. Strategy is an of import portion of racing, peculiarly in competitions of a stat mi or thirster. Those Equus caballuss that possess # 8220 ; early velocity # 8221 ; are sent to the lead every bit shortly as the race begins. While jockeys on # 8220 ; come from behind # 8221 ; Equus caballuss gallop more easy at first to salvage energy for a stronger attempt in the stretch. Whether the # 8220 ; velocity # 8221 ; Equus caballuss will keep their early lead or output to the fast-closing rivals depends on the Equus caballuss # 8217 ; quality and status. Other variables known as # 8220 ; rushing fortune # 8221 ; are factors such as whether the jockeys make the right moves at the right clip. Races are examined by the path stewards and recorded on videotape. In add-on, photoelectric timers measure the taking Equus caballus # 8217 ; s clip at specific topographic points around the path and at the finish line. The record for the fastest stat mi is 1 minute 32 1/5 seconds, in 1968 by the American Equus caballus Dr. Fager ( Guinness ) . Puting a path record non merely takes a fit Equus caballus but besides a knowing jockey and trainer. Most jockeys foremost learn to manage Equus caballuss as exercising riders, siting in forenoon exercises. Jockeies are normally about 5 pess tall and weigh about 100 lbs. They begin their jockey callings as learners, having weight allowances until they have won a stipulated figure of races. Jockeies wear typical colored and patterned shirts and caps, called silks, they identify their Equus caballus # 8217 ; s proprietor, like a coat of weaponries. Every proprietor registers his silks with the Jockey Club. Even though Thoroughbred race riders are little, they have the strength and bravery necessary to steer a Equus caballus thundering down the path at top velocity. Leading jockeys have speedy physiological reactions, a finely-developed sense of timing, and above all command of rushing scheme and experience # 8220 ; a cool manus with a hot Equus caballus # 8221 ; ( Bailey ) . The technique of siting Thoroughbreds has evolved over the old ages. Jockeys sat unsloped until the terminal of the last century, when Tod Sloan developed the overdone frontward place place. Puting the rider # 8217 ; s weight over the Equus caballus # 8217 ; s centre of gravitation greatly reduces air current opposition, and more of import, keeps a rider in greater balance with a Equus caballus at high velocities ( Denman, 55 ) . To see that the Equus caballus will transport the precise assigned white, jockeys and their equipment weigh out before and weigh in after a race. Keeping a proper weight is an of import factor in a jockey # 8217 ; s life. Few weigh more than 105 lbs and those who have trouble with extra poundage must diet constantly.. Jockeies use specialised racing cogwheel. Underneath the racing silks, many jockeys wear a protective thorax defender to protect from hurt in instance of a bad luck. The rushing saddle they use is really lightweight weighing less than four lbs. The carry a whip to press the Equus caballus along. Goggless protect against clay and soil. Several jockeys have started to have on rhinal strips to guarantee proper take a breathing throughout the race. Jockeys besides receive last infinitesimal instructions from the trainer. Trainers deliberate with jockeys before a race to give instructions and program a scheme. Is the Equus caballus a favorite or a does it like to come from behind # 8221 ; Does it # 8220 ; bear in # 8221 ; or # 8220 ; float out # 8221 ; from the rail? Another of import inquiry, would be which are the velocity Equus caballuss? After the race and weigh in is completed the jockeys run away to lavish in the athletes room. They switch silks and reiterate the procedure on a nother entry. They may sit for a par ticular proprietor or accept whatever saddle horses trainers offer. Jockeies are paid a fee for each Equus caballus they ride every bit good as a per centum of the bags their saddle horses win. Racing is a really carefully supervised athletics. The pull offing organic structure of British racing is the Jockey Club of Great Britain. The Jockey Club through its office in Lexington, Kentucky, handles the enrollment of all North American Thoroughbreds. The Thoroughbred Racing Associations and the Racing Commissioners International are of import rushing organic structures. In add-on to Jockey Club enrollment processs, racecourse functionaries identify each Equus caballus before every race and behavior trials to observe the presence of medicine or drugs that might impact the race # 8217 ; s result. Videotape records of the race # 8217 ; s advancement, while a high-velocity camera at the finish line determines near results. Stewards stand foring the Jockey Club and the province rushing committees can unfit Equus caballuss and punish jockeys for such misdemeanors as intervention and unsafe equitation. Horse racing is the 2nd most widely attended U.S. witness athletics, after baseball. # 8220 ; In 1997, 56,194,565 people attended 8,004 yearss of racing, beting $ 9.14 billion # 8221 ; ( YouBet.com ) . Betting is an of import component in the popularity of Equus caballus racing. At different times # 8220 ; four chief types of wagering have been popular: simple betting between persons ; sweepstakes wagering, in which big entry fees are pooled and awarded to the victors ; bookmaking, in which speculators offer odds against each Equus caballus and accept stakes against their anticipations ; and pari-mutual betting, which is the most widespread system used at the major American paths # 8221 ; ( Betmaker.com ) . The appellation pari-mutuel is a Gallic phrase translated as # 8220 ; wagering among ourselves. # 8221 ; Under the pari-mutual system, which was developed in France during the 1860s, the wagering odds on a given Equus caballus are derived from a comparing between the entire sum wagered on the Equus caballus and the entire wagered on all the Equus caballuss in the race. The odds are automatically computed by a device called a pari-mutuel machine, which posts them on a lit carryall board clearly seeable to witnesss ( Betmaker.com ) . Oddss are recomputed at about one-minute intervals until station clip, when all stakes must be placed and the pari-mutuel machines are locked. Wining tickets are cashed after the race # 8217 ; s consequences have been declared official, by which clip computing machines have determined the final payments. Pari-mutuel betters can bet that a Equus caballus will win ( complete foremost ) , topographic point ( finish foremost or 2nd ) , or show ( finish foremost, 2nd, or 3rd ) . In the event that two or more Equus caballuss are entered by the same proprietor or trainer, they are coupled in the wagering as an entry. In this state of affairs a stake on one of these Equus caballuss is a stake on all of them. Alien beting involves more than one Equus caballus. Such combinations include the day-to-day two-base hit, in which the better must foretell the victors of two back-to-back races, normally the first two and last two races of the twenty-four hours. An utmost fluctuation of the day-to-day two-base hit is the pick 3 or pick 6. In which betters must choose the victors of 3 or 6 back-to-back races. In instances that no 1 selected all 6 victors a solace wage out for five victors is distributed and a carryover is left for the following twenty-four hours of rushing. To win a quinella or perfecta box, the better must foretell the first two closers in a individual race without respect to the order in which they finish. To win an perfecta, the better must stipulate the exact order in which the first two Equus caballuss in a race will complete. Such involved beting about ever outputs higher final payments than typical win-place-show bets. Off-track betting ( OTB ) is turning in popularity throughout the United States. OTB installations offer an option to beting at racecourses. Bettors can put bets and watch the races via orbiter broadcast. The OTB installations are chiefly placed in countries where race paths are few and far between. Simulcasting, in which unrecorded races are televised at assorted racecourses around the state via orbiter, is going really of import in U.S. racing. It allows betters to bet on stakes-quality Equus caballuss, since simulcasts by and large are reserved for the best races available. An illustration, betters can bet on the Kentucky Derby around the universe through simulcasting, non merely at Churchill Downs. At many U.S. racecourses, whole cards of races from other locations are simulcast, both when the racecourse is besides running unrecorded racing and when there is no unrecorded racing scheduled. Some paths simulcast the races from up to eight different racecourses at the same clip. # 8220 ; Get downing in the 1970s, away path betting and simulcasting became progressively prevailing in the United States. By 1993 beting via simulcasting accounted for more than 40 per centum of all wagering conducted at racecourses in the United States # 8221 ; ( Betmaker.com ) . The Kentucky Derby and the Breeders # 8217 ; Cup are the two most popular races and are offered through simulcasting. The Kentucky Derby stands as the oldest, consecutively held Thoroughbred race in America. The first Kentucky Derby was held May 17, 1875, as a crowd estimated at 10,000 from around the metropolis, province and environing countries converged on the Jockey Club grounds. A field of 15 three-year-olds went postward for the 1 1/2 stat mi competition which was won by H.P. McGrath # 8217 ; s Aristides, trained by Ansel Williamson and ridden by the popular Afro-american rider, Oliver Lewis ( Martin,124 ) Of that twenty-four hours # 8217 ; s 15 jockeys, 14 were Afro-american. Although the first Derby was held at 1 1/2 stat mis, the distance was changed to the current 1 1/4 stat mis in 1896. # 8220 ; In 1945, a wartime prohibition on rushing threatened to call off the Derby. Following VE twenty-four hours, a authorities proclamation on May 8 lifted the prohibition and the 71st Derby was held June 9 that twelvemonth # 8221 ; ( Martin, 126 ) . The Breeders # 8217 ; Cup started in 1984. It incorporates seven title races in one action packed twenty-four hours. It is known through the rushing community as Thoroughbred rushing # 8217 ; s # 8220 ; Super Bowl. # 8221 ; It is held at varioius racecourses around the state each autumn, the Breeders # 8217 ; Cup brings together racings finest Equus caballuss to vie for more than 10 million dollars in bags. The Breeders # 8217 ; Cup is frequently the finding factor in divisional titles and the Horse of the Year. The Breeders # 8217 ; Cup consists of eight races based on assorted distance, sex and age limitations. The two million dollar Breeders # 8217 ; Cup Distaff is race for three twelvemonth olds and up, fillies and female horses, rushing a stat mi and an 8th. There are two juvenile races one for fillies and for colts or geldings. The distance for both races is one stat mi and a sixteenth. The bags on the Juvenile races are one million dollars each. The Mile is for all Equ us caballuss three old ages old and up, rushing one stat mi on the sod for one million dollars. The Dash is six furlongs for all Equus caballuss three twelvemonth olds and up for one million dollars. The Turf is the longest of the races and is unfastened for all three twelvemonth olds and up. It is a stat mi and one half on the sod for two million dollars. The biggest bag belongs to the most esteemed race of the Breeders # 8217 ; Cup, the Classic. Three twelvemonth olds and up run one stat mi and a one-fourth for four million dollars. Of the seven Breeders # 8217 ; Cup races, the one most thirstily watched with an oculus towards the hereafter is the Juvenile ( G1 ) . Amazingly plenty, nevertheless, the consequences of the Juvenile are every bit good an index of who non to wager in the following twelvemonth # 8217 ; s classics instead than who to wager. In an epoch where holding the Kentucky Derby favourite is a certain manner non to win the Run for the Roses, the Breeders # 8217 ; Cup Juvenile has become ill-famed for the failure of its victors to travel on to greater things at three. Ironically, the first running of the Juvenile in 1984 was as good a signifier usher as any race for the `85 classics. While victor Chief # 8217 ; s Crown failed as the favourite in all three Triple Crown races ( 2nd in the Preakness Stakes [ G1 ] , 3rd in the Kentucky Derby [ G1 ] and Belmont Stakes [ G1 ] ) , runner-up Tank # 8217 ; s Prospect won the Preakness and third-place closer Spend a Buck went on to win the Kentucky Der by and Horse of the Year awards in 1985. The first Juvenile, the first race tally in Breeders # 8217 ; Cup history, seemed to set up the race as a precursor for authoritative success the undermentioned twelvemonth. However after the successful first twelvemonth the Juvenile victors had a tough clip in the Triple Crown Classic races. The 1985 victor, Tasso, did non vie in the Triple Crown the following twelvemonth, nor did any of the other entries that twelvemonth have a important impact on the classics. The 1986 Juvenile proved to be the most star-studded of Breeders # 8217 ; Cup history, with Kentucky Derby and Preakness victor Alysheba completing 3rd, Belmont victor Bet Twice 4th, and major bets victors Gulch, Demons Begone and Polish Navy make fulling the musca volitanss instantly behind that couple. In a foreboding mark for Juvenile victors, nevertheless, 1986 victor Capote failed to develop on and was 0-for-6 as a three-year-old. A form had been set in the Juvenile, as one victor after another failed to do an feeling on the classics the following twelvemonth. Success Express, like Capote trained by D. Wayne Lukas, won the `87 Juvenile. And, like Capote, he neer won another race, traveling 0-for-9 at three. D. Wayne Lukas was back once more in 1988, playing the spoiler # 8217 ; s function this clip as Is It True disquieted 3-to-10 favourite Easy Goer over a boggy path at Churchill Downs. Easy Goer would demo his antipathy for the Churchill mud the following twelvemonth in losing the Kentucky Derby to Sunday Silence, while Is It True would lose the classics in `89. Rhythm continued the form in 1989, winning the Juvenile, so jumping the `90 classics, though he did win the Travers Stakes ( G1 ) later that twelvemonth. Fly So Free, the `90 victor, was still around for the Derby the following twelvemonth, but finished off-the-board. In 1991, Arazi put on one of the most eye-popping shows in Breeders # 8217 ; Cup history, winging in from France with a exalted repute and populating up to it, frolicing place a five-length victor over Bertrando. Seven months subsequently, nevertheless, Arazi would complete eighth as the odds-on pick in the Derby as the Juvenile expletive struck down another Juvenile-winning title-holder. Consistency has been the trademark of the Juvenile expletive, as Aureate Time ( 1992 ) missed the Triple Crown with hurt and Brocco ( `93 ) won merely one time more after the Juvenile. The Juvenile eventually produced a victor capable of authoritative success in 1994, when Timber Country took the Juvenile, so went on to win the Preakness. But as an ugly reminder of how powerful the expletive is, unwellness and hurt struck down the boy of Woodman, who neer ran once more after the Preakness. Unbridled # 8217 ; s Song appeared a superhorse in the devising when he won the 1995 reclamation. But a broken bone ruined his Kentucky Derby opportunities and he finished fifth. The expletive appeared stronger than of all time following the 1996 running. Boston Harbor led all the manner to win that twelvemonth # 8217 ; s Juvenile, but merely raced one time more as a break in his leg ended his calling. The 1997 reclamation featured Horse of the Year-to be Favorite Trick, who capped an 8-for-8 two-year-old season with a 5 1/2-length victory over Dawson # 8217 ; s Legacy. The 1999 race was won by Anees a colt by Unbridled. Anees is the 2nd foal by Unbridled to win the Breeders # 8217 ; Cup Juvenile ( Breeders Cup Limited Online ) . Can Anees travel on to win the Kentucky Derby following May? Lone clip will state. The exhilaration from watching a Equus caballus in the Breeders # 8217 ; Cup Juvenile progress forward towards the Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown may lure fans to follow the athletics. Wining on a two dollar win bet may excite fans and promote more excursions to the local racecourse. Fans may be interested in watching jockeys clip and pull strings the Equus caballuss to clip their charge for the finish line. With so many variables the precise ground for the success of Equus caballus racing is difficult to find. Fans have supported the athletics for centuries and all marks point to a bright hereafter into the new millenium. Bailey, Jerry. Jockey Interview. www.athletesdirect.com Archive Interviews. Bloodhorse Interactive. www.bloodhorse.com Visited Site Oct. 7, 1999. Betmaker.Com. Foundation of Wagering. www.betmaker.com.Visited Site Oct 6, 1999. Breeders Cup Limited Online. www.breederscup.com Visited Site Oct 6, 1999. Cadmium Online. www.churchilldowns.com Visited Site Oct. 6, 1999. Churchill Downs. Churchill Downs Daily Program. July 24, 1999. Denman, Trevor. # 8220 ; Evolution of Riding # 8221 ; Excerpt Daily Racing Form Vol. 189 Issue 7. DRF Staff. Establishing Fathers: King Henry. Daily Rushing Form Vol.189 Issue 7. Guinness World of Records. www.guinness.dk Oct.18, 1999. Martin, Michael G. The Kentucky Derby. Message Board of www.churchilldowns.com Path Facts. Track Facts. Pamphlet distributed at Turfway Park.Nov.18, 1999. Turfway. Turfway Park: Beginner Bettor Pamphlet. Nov 18, 1999. Youbet.com. FAQs. www.youbet.com Oct. 6, 1999.