Galloping a horse is a feeling that is hard to express in words.  I can still close my eyes and remember galloping my horse in the fields around our barn: the thundering sound of my mare’s hooves, her rhythmical breaths, the opening of her stride as I urged her forward, the watering of my eyes and the burn in my calves as I stood perched above her withers.

This website will explore the different aspects of Thoroughbred Horse Racing. By exploring the biology, economics, ethics and legislation behind horse racing I hope to provide a well rounded evaluation of the sport and its impacts. 

Horse Racing is an ancient sport that can be traced back to ancient greece where chariot and horse races first appeared in the Greek Olympics. Later, in the 12th century, English knights brought back Arabian horses from the crusades, these horses were then bred with to create horses with both speed and stamina. This led to the beginnings of horse racing, two horses were matched together and noblemen placed wagers on their favourites to win. In the 15th century horse racing expanded across seas to America, where the rich showcased their horses on several tracks in the New York area. In the late 17th to early 18th century the concept of Thoroughbred racing was established along with the publication of the General Stud Book. Through the stud book we see that all Thoroughbred’s can be linked to three founding sires: Byerley Turk, Darley Arabian and Godolphin Arabian.

Thoroughbred Horse Racing is divided into two categories: Flat Racing (left) and Jump Racing (right).  Flat racing is held over a varying distances and is held on either turf or dirt. Tracks are measured in furlongs, where one furlong is the equivalent to one eight of a mile. Jump racing, such as steeplechase, is held over a longer distance and includes obstacles such as hedges and ditches.