Features

Modern thoroughbred racing is something to get excited about...just as fans were some fifty, sixty, and seventy years ago. But rediscovering horseracing and turning interest into action among newer enthusiasts must be craftily executed and mindful of not letting "the tail wag the dog" (coined from the Joe McGuiness book, The Big Horse, about long-shot Volponi and the legendary PG Johnson). Hear this: the resources necessary to jump start the thoroughbred racing fan base exists within the glorious sport itself.

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Everyone knows Australians for their love of sport, and horse racing has an avid following in this country. The climate is suitable for a long racing season, and there are a number of outstanding race tracks on the continent. Australia is a favorite with horse racing lovers who live in the temperate latitudes of North America, and who wish to follow events and enjoy online betting during the colder months in their home places.

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The contradictory pressure of real estate values, and cost containment, threaten the very existence of horse racing as a sport. Casinos are a common, but not the only way in which owners of horse racing tracks can rake in huge wads of cash. Land for stables, farms, and practice tracks, are usually amongst the first to lose out to the modern whims of city folk, but since there is no limit to greed, the sport itself can disappear at times. A closely related matter is the ownership of land which hosts horse racing tracks and complexes, since local authorities always have rights to take over these properties.

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One of the most endearing characteristics of horse racing is its honor of deep rooted traditions. The manner in which thoroughbreds are bred, trained and cared for, go back uncounted generations. Horse racing methods have not changed much either, though electronics, satellites and the Internet have revolutionized sports betting conventions.

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Stepping through the entrance gate of any major track on Breeders Cup day instantly snaps the senses to attention...among the grandeur of those twin spires of Churchill Downs or beneath the hundred-year-old trees of Saratoga Racecourse, for example, the feeling of self becomes clouded as you mesh with the other 75,000 or so attendees to watch the day’s events unfold.

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Horse racing depends on the nobility, courage, competitive spirit, strength and stamina of thoroughbreds. You cannot have everything in any one animal, but many of them exhibit combinations of features which make them the stuff of legends. Horse racing is an intense sport, and while years of training and riding skill go in to every event which lasts but minutes, it is the bred quality and innate characteristics of horses which makes the difference between champions and also-rans.

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“Too bad, the horse racing season is coming to an end”. What can be worse than hearing this refrain amongst friends? Modern horse racing tracks and drainage systems have made horse racing possible even just after a sharp shower, and the Swiss have found a way of horse racing on ice, but most of the temperate world remains with less than even 50 days of events in a calendar year.

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Why do some horse racing events mean more to enthusiasts and punters than thousands of other races run all over the world throughout the racing calendar? Race track owners would love to know the answer to this question, for financial returns in this business depend so much on spectator support.

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Everyone in the horse racing world must dream of taking part in the Breeders Cup, a premier U.S. event every November. Television screens, satellites, and computers have made life easy for punters and spectators, for they can now enjoy the event at their leisure even if they do not make it to the race track on time. However, the number of horses and riders which can take part is strictly limited, so much competition starts way before the actual race starts! Getting the honor to race for the Breeders Cup is a kind of recognition in its own right, and the organizers have had to come up with rigorous criteria for choosing contestants.

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Falling leaves are not the only sign of autumn if you love horse racing as The Breeders Cup, which takes place every November, generates enthusiastic debate and speculation about who will win. Ordinary thoroughbreds and jockeys do not take part in this prestigious event, and indeed every contestant is a champion of some standing. 2006, according to some knowledgeable observers, may be somewhat different in this respect, because word of a hot tip has begun the rounds.

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