Horse racing has long held the attention of millions worldwide. From its majestic pageantry in events such as the Kentucky Derby and Royal Ascot to its exciting action on tracks worldwide, this sport continues to draw audiences around the world. Yet at the same time it remains adaptive enough to meet modern demands.
At the center of this change lies a renewed attention on horse welfare. From improving racetrack conditions to increasing veterinary care, industry has taken steps to protect horses’ health and wellbeing – yet one of its biggest challenges still remains – engaging meaningful dialogue with an audience that has become saturated with reports about horse mistreatment and neglect.
Claiming races are races where any licensed person may purchase running horses for a specified price, creating an exciting risk-reward situation for trainers who place their horses knowing they may be claimed before race day; winning could result in confidence-building runs for trainers while new owners assume any associated risk.
Graded stakes races are high-level races with purses exceeding $100,000. Open only to horses that have shown they can perform successfully in races and meet certain criteria such as age, distance, class and sex criteria, graded races have purses in excess of this threshold.
Non-graded stakes races offer lower-level competition with purses under $100,000 and feature horses who may not have proven their racing prowess in prior races. They typically take place on turf or dirt racetracks and offer smaller purses compared to graded stakes races.
An “allowed” race is a type of allowance race in which horses who have broken their maiden or won their inaugural non-claiming or starter allowance race are granted allowances from competitors through weight reduction based on factors like previous wins, age and recent performance.
Show finishers in races featuring three or more runners receive the Show bet in addition to win and place prices, in which all selections made correctly will receive an additional show price. A Show bet can only be placed before a race begins with three or more runners participating, and must be placed prior to starting time. In races without exact finishers, money will be distributed evenly among those with most correct selections in the pool; otherwise the prize money may be split among all those making correct selections in descending order of total number of selections made. Occasionally all funds may be paid out entirely; otherwise all or part may carry over into another race event.