A horse race is a competition that involves horses and riders. The horses are bred and trained to run at speed, and the riders, or jockeys, are assigned to them by owners or trainers. Horse racing has been practiced in civilizations around the world since ancient times. It is a sport and an art form that can be enjoyed by spectators, but it has also been a source of gambling and betting.
The most famous horse race is the Kentucky Derby, a steeplechase that is run over a distance of two miles (3.2 km). It has been held annually at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky since 1875. The Derby is one of the most popular sporting events in the United States, drawing crowds of up to 200,000 people. The Derby is a key event in the Triple Crown, which is awarded to the winner of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.
Many Thoroughbreds are pushed past their physical limits during races, and the stress of running can cause them to bleed from their lungs, a condition called exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. In order to prevent this, many horses are given a cocktail of legal and illegal drugs, including sedatives, painkillers, and a diuretic known as Lasix. This is a controversial practice that animal welfare advocates believe should be banned, but the racing industry claims it is necessary to keep the sport healthy and safe for horses.
Individual flat races are usually short sprints, but some are longer distance races referred to as routes in the United States and as staying races in Europe. Fast acceleration, or a “turn of foot,” is often required to win sprints, and stamina is important in longer races. In addition, different races are governed by a variety of conditions and rules, such as the weights that horses must carry in order to be evenly matched, reductions in the weights that female or three-year-old horses are allowed to compete with males, and allowances for apprentice jockeys.
In politics, a horse race is often used to describe a tight race between two candidates, but when journalists focus on the closeness of polls instead of the policy issues at stake in an election -what’s called “horse race journalism”- voters, political parties, and the news industry suffer, according to research. This collection of articles looks at the consequences of this approach to covering elections.