A horse race is a competitive event that features a number of horses competing for a specific amount of prize money. To win, a rider must navigate the course safely and jump any hurdles or fences that may be present.
The term horse race is also used to refer to a close political contest. While the term has a long history of use in a variety of contexts, it has come to be most commonly associated with a tight election where public opinion polls are closely watched. Media scholars have studied the effect of a particular strategy in news coverage of elections and have concluded that when reporters focus on polling results and frontrunners to the exclusion of policy issues, they are practicing what is called horse race journalism.
While the first organized horse races were four-hitch chariot races, mounted (bareback) races became more popular in Europe around 700 bce. The early sport was highly regulated, with a set of eligibility rules developed based on the age, sex, and birthplace of the horses as well as the experience and ability of riders. Amounts of prize money were awarded to the winners and there were even restrictions on how many horses could be entered in each race, ensuring that races would not become too crowded or expensive.
In addition to these eligibility rules, there were a variety of handicapping methods designed to create as much of a level playing field as possible and ensure that wagering on horse racing would remain profitable. These include the use of a condition book that provides a schedule of races for a given track over a period of time. Trainers often design their training regimens for a given month or longer using this information. Substitute races are occasionally included in the condition book when not enough entries are expected to fill a race.
Claiming races are a key component of this system as they provide a means for runners to compete on an equal footing without the expense of entering a stakes race. These races are written at a variety of levels so that they attract both younger, inexperienced horses who need to build their class and older, salty veterans who can run for the claiming tag. In this way, a claiming race provides both a reward (winning and building class) and a risk (being claimed).
A horse’s class is determined by its average earnings over a number of races. This figure is calculated by dividing a horse’s winning total by its losing total and multiplying the result by 100. The resulting figure is the staking value of the horse in pounds, and it is this figure that determines how much a rider will be paid if he or she wins the race. The higher the average-earnings index, the more a horse is worth in terms of staking. A horse’s claiming price is set by the horse’s owner or trainer.