Race Horse
A powerful, beautiful and elegant animal, the main character in the Sport of Kings, Horse Racing
Race horses are bred all over the world to participate in various forms of horse racing. Today's race horse is a slick, more elegant, leaner animal than race horses that were bred even just 50 years ago. Race horses of the past were bred for durability, strength and high endurance. Today, the Thoroughbred race horse's number one trait is speed.
All Thoroughbred horses can trace their pedigrees back to just three original sires – Godolphin, Darley Arabian and Byerly Turk. All three sires were taken to England where they were mated with brood mares, thus creating the foundation of today's race horse population. Ranging in height, thoroughbred race horses are measured in 'hands' (representing somewhere between four and five inches). A small Thoroughbred would measure about 14 hands and a tall Thoroughbred would be 18 hands.
An interesting fact is that the genes of the sire and dam do play an important role in the racing ability of the offspring. It is quite common to find a wide variety of ability from the same pedigree. In theory, if you took the same sire and dam and bred them together 10 times, each of the offspring race horses would have their own unique racing traits, different levels of speed and different racing preferences for track surfaces and racetrack conditions.
The biggest purses available in American racing for today's race horse are when the horse is 2 and 3 years of age, yet, most horses will not reach their full maturity until they are at least the age of 4. This has caused great controversy in the sport of horse racing and is probably one of the major factors as to why today's Thoroughbred race horses have a tendency to be injured early in their racing career. If given the chance to mature, race horses would have less injuries and would be able to race more consistently for at least 4 or 5 years and up to the age of 7 or 8. Virtual horses in our fantasy horse racing game can race up to the age of 9. Why not start your career as an owner and breed your first champion horse for free.
Thoroughbreds have the ability to produce great power and speed due to the muscle structure they inherit. This is why they are able to carry over a hundred pounds, in some cases up to 140 pounds, on their back while traveling at speeds up to 40 miles per hour.
The muscular structure of a Thoroughbred race horse is different from other horses. All horses contain some combination of fast twitch and slow twitch fiber groupings. Some produce speed while others produce endurance. The Thoroughbred race horse contains a pretty balanced combination of the fast twitch and slow twitch groupings, which gives them the ability to run long distance and yet extend themselves with bursts of high speed.
The history of Thoroughbred racing goes back hundreds of years. For the longest time, horse racing was the most popular sport in America. The race horse was considered an icon and anyone owning a top race horse was considered some sort of royalty. Early racing in the United States occurred on the East Coast out on Long Island, NY. Racing first originated there in the mid-1600s. Over time, hundreds of racetracks have been opened and closed throughout the United States. Today there are only a handful of top, Thoroughbred racetracks, mostly in or near major metropolitan areas. Horse racing is most popular in the Northeast throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland, though the heart of the sport is based in Kentucky.
Race horse are bred in many different states, but the most popular or the best bred Thoroughbreds come from Kentucky. New York, Florida and California are also considered to produce some of the best racing stock in America.
Though the United States is known for producing the best Thoroughbred champions, countries like Japan, England and France are quickly becoming world leaders in the breeding of Thoroughbreds.
Owning a Thoroughbred race horse can be an expensive hobby. People who want to be part of racing who do not have the resources like top Thoroughbred race horse owners might be better off participating in the sport of Quarter Horse racing. Quarter Horses tend to race more in the southern and mountain regions of the United States and are more affordable to maintain than the standard Thoroughbred race horse.
Probably the most affordable race horse anyone can own is a virtual race horse. Breeding a sire and a dam and then have their traits passed down to a virtual race horse whose racing career you can train and manage is a great way to get involved with horse racing at an introductory level without spending the type of money associated with owning real Thoroughbred horses.
For the individuals who want to participate in the real world of horse racing yet have limited resources, there are many organization offering multiple partnerships. These partnerships allow individuals the opportunity to own a small share (as little as 1%-2%) of a Thoroughbred race horse, limiting their upfront capital investment and ongoing expenses associated with the upkeep and care of Thoroughbreds.
Why not get involved in horse racing and own your own champion race horse for free. Play our free horse racing game and build a stable of top champion Thoroughbreds while you compete against tens of thousands of other players from all over the world.
Here's your chance to get involved in horse racing virtually. Breed your first virtual thoroughbred free in our game and play now.
