RACING & WAGERING

Horse Racing

“And they’re off!” Horse racing of all types is found in our racing section, including Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, Harness, Steeplechase and Arabian racing.

Want to get lucky? Take a look at the Wagering to help guide you. Keep track of upcoming horse races and racing events in our Calendar of Events for Horse Racing.

Want to live the dream of owning a racehorse? Check out the Breeding, Partnerships, Sales & Bloodstocks sections where you can help yourself be a force in the Sport of Kings.

Need a place to train your baby and help develop his successful career? You will find both training facilities and professional racehorse trainers in our Training section. See you in the winners’ circle!

Popular Racing Sites

Horse Racing - General Information

by CL Cimino

The Royal Ascot can boast of a long and prosperous history. Queen Elizabeth II attends this event every year along with the other members of the Royal Family. This racing event is hugely popular in the UK with many fans searching Royal Ascot offers for 2020 during the summertime.

1- Brown Jack

Brown Jack is one of the most popular racehorses in the history of British racing. His achievements in the Queen Alexandra Stakes looks unlikely to be repeated by any other horse- he won this race for a record six seasons in a row.

What makes his achievements even more amazing is that he started as a hurdler before he switched to flat racing later in his career.

Brown Jack won the Ascot Stakes in 1928 before he went on an incredible winning run from 1929 to 1934. He also won the Goodwood Cup, Champion Hurdle, Doncaster Cup, Chester Cup, and the Ebor Handicap. His trainers were Aubrey Hastings and Ivor Anthony while the British military officer Sir Harold Wernher was his owner.

Statue of racing legend Red Rum at Aintree.

People are greatly passionate about horse racing in the UK. The Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National are some of the most popular events in the whole world. A great majority of fans attend these events with horse racing betting very common among the race-goers.

1- Sprinter Sacre:

The story of Sprinter Sacre is hugely inspirational for people desiring glory and success in their fields. Despite many odds, the great horse won many racing honors and carved a big name for himself in the United Kingdom.

Sprinter Sacre looked destined for glory from the very beginning. He won one race after another and garnered headlines from the very start of his career. He claimed notable victories at the Tingle Creek Chase, Queen Mother Champion Chase, and Arkle Challenge.

However, his racing career got in jeopardy when he was found to be suffering from a heart complication after he pulled up in a race in 2013. His performance got greatly affected by this problem as he struggled to win any racing contest.

But his perseverance paid off as he finally managed to secure a victory in about two and a half years. And once his losing jinx was broken, he produced other important victories. He claimed the 2016 Queen Mother Champion Chase even after committing a big mistake during the race.

2- Red Rum

Red Rum is a household name in the United Kingdom. He has the distinction of being the only racehorse in history who won the Grand National for a record three times.

by Kalyn McMackin

San Diego -- Ferrin Peterson is no stranger to hard work. The Carlsbad resident works two jobs: one as a professional jockey and the other as a veterinarian, making her quite the dual threat when it comes to horse racing.

At 5'4" and 110 pounds, Peterson's stature looks like most jockeys -- except for the long blonde braid tucked under her black riding helmet.

"I want to see how far I can take this jockey career," Peterson said. "I would love to be the first female to win the Kentucky Derby. It's never happened and I think that's crazy."

Before earning her jockey's license in 2018, Peterson raced part-time. She's competed in 230 races and won 15 of them, often as the only woman riding.

"There's this perception that we're not as strong as the men or maybe we'd be more scared. But as I've been here longer, I can tell people are starting to change their opinion about me," she said.

The Cheltenham Festival may have originated in 1860 and had a permanent home at the Gloucestershire track since 1911 but it is still growing in popularity and stature. Last year the opening day Festival attendance reached 67,934 people - record breaking stuff.

The mid 1960’s and Tom Dreaper’s three time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Arkle, added a new dimension to the annual gathering of National Hunt superstars as his celebrated achievements were the beginning of an Irish invasion which has numerically grown and grown to the point that Irish trained runners cannot match the numerical advantage of the home nation but surpasses it in terms of winners.

Irish Winners Galore

In 2006 Irish horses swept the three most prestigious prizes the Cheltenham Festival: The Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle and Champion Chase and in 2017 Irish-trained runners took 19 of the Festival’s 28 races.

So it’s good news all round for the Cheltenham Festival and National Hunt racing in general albeit connections of a horse engaged in a mid-week Plumpton seller, where the prize-money may even not cover a month’s stable fees, may differ in opinion!

Final moments with our first pinhooking project. She's a good girl.

by Chelsea Hackbarth

We walked in to the Keeneland Sales Pavilion with an idea, a little bit of hope, and a lot of bravado.

We walked out a little bit wiser, we hope, and with a renewed sense of faith in ourselves.

The eight months in between were a heck of a journey.

“We both graduated with equine business degrees, surely we can figure this out,” my business partner, Steph Settles, said to me last November. “Besides, it'll be fun to have a baby around.”

A couple of bloodstock industry neophytes, we were discussing our first pinhooking venture. Steph didn't know how prophetic her words would turn out to be, though. Just as we had organized a few of our friends to head into the Keeneland January sale and pick out our first prospect, Steph and her husband found out they were expecting a baby of their own.

Due in early September, as in right before the Keeneland September sale.

“If I have to go straight from the birthing suite to the sales ring, I'll be there when our filly sells,” Steph joked. “I'm not worried about it. I'm all in.”

A Primer on Thoroughbred Racing: the United States, United Kingdom and Australia

The sport of horse racing has been a source for entertainment and joy for thousands of years, in virtually every culture around the world. Now, in the 21^st Century, trainers take great care to plan the racing career of every horse, considering carefully which races will fit each horse's potential and talent. It isn’t uncommon to see the best horses in the world racing at many tracks in the United Kingdom, or travel to Australia and the United States to take on worthy competitors.

Each country has its professionals and noteworthy races, of course: technology such as television, simulcasting and the Internet make it possible for race fans to watch thrilling races somewhere on the planet virtually every day of the year. (i.e., you don't have to be in Hong Kong to watch, bet and enjoy the races at Happy Valley.) Here are some of the best locations to watch racing across the globe.

United States

The love of the sport in North America dates back to 1665, when the first race was run in New York. (Very close to present-day Belmont Park, in fact.) Since then, the sport in North America has grown by leaps and bounds: the most popular races are big betting occasions, even for people who don’t usually bet.

by Bill Finley

Cameron Beatty was at that stage in life–young, healthy, athletic, motivated, naive–where he never even imagined the possibility that everything he had could be taken away from him. He was the starting quarterback at Freehold Township (NJ) High School and had accepted an offer to play at Fairleigh Dickinson, where he had an academic scholarship. He was going places, and on the fast track.

In an instant, everything changed.

In 2010, Beatty, now 27, was on his way to the gym to workout when he had a motorcycle accident so serious that it nearly cost him his life. He suffered a brain injury, a ruptured spleen and internal bleeding. At first, the doctors did not realize the extent of the spleen injury and the bleeding it was causing, but when his heart rate dropped to under 20 beats per minute he was rushed into emergency surgery.

“I woke up one morning bleeding to death,” he said.

A day at the races comes with connotations of elegant outfits, fascinating fascinators and a glass of champagne in hand and as we embark through the race season, we’ve seen plenty of it all. From flowing skirts and bodycon marvels, to three-piece suits and a top hat or two, Royal Ascot is one of the most well-known events for an elegant outfit or two. Dressed to the nines, attendants of Ladies Day, the royal procession or frankly any day at the races, come together to celebrate some of the most intense horse racing around while sporting top fashion from across the country.

With King George Weekend just around the corner, we’re taking a look at some of the best fashion from Royal Ascot, and what we can expect to see the future event.

The Style Guide

For anyone attending Royal Ascot, the main website publishes a style guide every year that covers the expected dress across different parts of the racecourse. From the Royal Enclosure to the Millinery Collective, each has its own suggested style of dress. For example, the Royal Enclosure requires:

Ladies: Dresses of a moderate length and with straps one inch in width or wider, all midriffs must be covered and while trouser suits are welcome, they should be full-length and of matching colour.
Gentlemen: Morning dress of a black or grey colour must be worn, including a waistcoat and tie (no novelty designs), a black or grey top hat and back shoes with socks.
Girls: The dress code for girls should follow that of the women, however, they are allowed to wear a fascinator as opposed to a full hat.
Boys: Young boys can choose to follow the same dress code as the gentlemen or opt for a black or grey lounge suit. In the Village Enclosure, however, the dress code is a little laxer but does include:

Steven Wolftail travelled to Walla Walla, Wash., last year to compete in the Champions of Champions Indian Relay Racing.

by Livia Manywounds

Competitors race bareback on thoroughbreds, with riders jumping from one horse to another

In its third season, the Canadian Indian Relay Racing Association is set to call the Calgary area home for its 2019 championship finals in the fall.

The association, which started in 2017, put a call out on social media for a venue to host the finals. Century Downs was the top bidder.

The championships are expected to have a prize purse of over $58,000 with more sponsors expected to jump on board.

Indian Relay is a sport that involves racing bareback on thoroughbred horses, with the rider jumping from one horse to another after each lap for three rounds.

Three horses and four people — a mugger, rider and two holders — make up a team.

Tiger Roll etched his place in history as one of the finest horses to grace jumps racing after winning the Grand National for the second year in a row. The bay gelding produced an outstanding performance at Aintree to beat out his nearest rival Magic of Light to claim the victory by two-and-three-quarter lengths.

Tiger Roll becomes an Aintree legend...

He's the first horse to win back-to-back Grand Nationals since Red Rum 45 years ago 👏👏👏

Follow: https://t.co/8pvEbGaVAQ #grandnational #GrandNational2019 pic.twitter.com/j2dcOj8ZU7
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) April 6, 2019