Horse racing is an adventure sport and now it has taken the form of betting. A jockey rides the horse and the race takes place between two or more horses that have to run over a set distance in order to compete. This sport is one of the oldest ones. The race helps to find the fastest horses that are competing. Different countries have their different traditions of horse racing. The variations over the races are developed over the breeds, initiating running obstacles, running in the different gaits the distance of running and running on different track surfaces.
Background of Horse Racing
Horse racing had a distinguished historical background. They have been used in different civilizations from ancient times. The skills of racing have made them popular over years and they are now organized every year as per schedule. There are several types of racing. The racing varieties that you are going to see in this years Grand National Racers are as follows:
Flat Racing
Flat racing is the most normal type of racings. The racing tracks in this category are oval in shape and level. The surface of the tracks varies. Turf is commonly found in Europe, dirt in Asia and North America and some recently designed synthetic surfaces like Tapeta and Polytrack are seen in some places. The distances in these races are 440 m to two and a half miles. The shorter races are called sprints. The longer ones are called routes or the staying races. To win a race fast speed of running of the horses are required. In the popular races, horses of the same weight are taken so that the race is fair for all. In the races, the female horses are also made to run against the male.
Jump Racing
They are also known as National Hunt racing in Ireland and Great Britain. This race can be further divided into hurdling and steeplechasing. The names are according to the size and types of the hurdles they need to jump over. It is found that as the horses grow older they are able to jump over bigger obstacles and run over longer distances. So, you can expect the juveniles to participate in the National Hunt races. In a year or so they are able to move over the hurdles and in the following years, they will become an expert in steeplechasing.
Endurance Racing
This years Grand National Racers are also going to include endurance racing. The length of this kind of racing is found to be varied. Some are as short as ten miles and the others can be longer up to hundred miles. Some races are even longer and can last for more than a day. So, on the basis of the lengths of the races, they are divided into five categories like:
- Pleasure rides (10-20 miles)
- Non-competitive trail rides (21-27 miles)
- Competitive trail rides (20-45 miles)
- Progressive trail rides (25-60 miles)
- Endurance rides (40-00 miles in a day and up to 250 miles in several days)
We hope that you have learned a lot about this year’s Grand National Racers. For more information stay tuned to the Grand National Racers.