Do you consider yourself to be a fan of equine races? Then you must know some of these facts about horse racing! This sport has a rich history and rules that you couldn’t even imagine. Let’s see some of the fun facts about horse racing!
Equality In Horse Races
Did you know that equine racing is one of the few sports where men and women are completely equal? As jockeys, both men and women, are able to compete against each other and precisely this is why there are more and more women jockeys nowadays. In addition to this, one more reason for the growth of female riders is the limit of weight assigned for the jockeys.
The Fastest Of Them All
If you are wondering how fast could the fastest horse sprint, the answer is 70.76 km/h or 43.97 mph! This horse holds The Guinness World Record as the fastest horse and it was named Winning Brew.
The highest speed ever measured during a horse race was noted Penn National Race Course in Pennsylvania on 14th of May 2008.
Two Birthdays
It is peculiar that in the world of horse racing, horses can have only two dates as their birthdays – 1st January and 1st August! The first date is assigned to the racehorses on the northern hemisphere and the second to the ones on the southern hemisphere.
The maturity of a horse is measured in years, and this is crucial for the racehorses and the permission to perform at certain races. Each event has its own limitations and rules that must be obliged.
The Origin Story
For thoroughbred horse races, certain rules must be followed, and one of them is that a horse needs to have a dam and a sire (purebred mother and father). Basically, all modern thoroughbred horses can be traced back to three stallions that were imported from the Middle East into England.
Who Was The First?
As there are many speculations that horse racing could be dating to thousands and thousands of years BC, there are actual proofs that show us some sort of horse races having been present during the time of Ancient Greeks. On the pottery found in Greece, there are drawings of chariot races showing the competitive nature of equine racing at that time – so we could pretty much claim that it is similar to what we call horse racing nowadays!
Who Wore The Crown?
The Ultimate success to any racehorse in the USA is to win the American Triple Crown! But, as it is something that is hard to earn, only thirteen horses have managed to get this achievement! The last one, named Justify, won all three in 2018. Also, there was a huge gap between the winner in 1978 and in 2015, and some believed that it would be hard to get the title ever again!
