Few things stop a racehorse owner, trainer, or fan in their tracks like hearing about a breakdown at the races. When several fatalities make the news, the question comes quickly: are racehorse deaths increasing? I’ve owned racehorses long enough to know that one catastrophic injury is one too many, and no statistic makes it easier …
The fastest racehorses in history are defined by distance. Winning Brew holds the official sprint speed record at 43.97 mph over 2 furlongs, while Secretariat holds the fastest 1.5-mile time with his 1973 Belmont Stakes record of 2:24 flat — still unbroken. No single horse holds all speed records because sprint speed and sustained classic …
A stakes race is a higher-level race in which owners nominate horses and often pay entry-related fees, with purses supported by those fees plus money added by the track or sponsor. In Thoroughbred racing, stakes races usually mean stronger competition, bigger purses, and lasting value for the horse. Grading tiers: Races scale from Listed up …
The title for this piece could have been the 6 Best Horse Racing Movies plus one. Our list of movies includes real-life stories and fictional tales, but all make excellent viewing for anyone who loves horse racing. Included are a couple of non-traditional horse racing movies to add some diversity. The movie that shouldn’t be …
How much weight does a racehorse lose in a race? Typical range: 25 to 50 pounds per race — roughly 2–5% of body weight; route races in extreme heat can exceed 50 pounds Source: Almost entirely fluid lost through sweat and respiration, not muscle or fat Lasix adds to it: horses on furosemide lose an …
When the gate opens, fans see a field of horses and a flash of colors. Those colors are not just part of racing’s pageantry – they help owners, announcers, officials, and bettors quickly find each horse in a fast-moving field. Here is what Jockeys wear during a race: Jockeys wear a helmet, safety vest, breeches, …
Horses are intelligent animals, but not in the way most people expect. Their intelligence is about reading relationships and adapting to pressure, and that shows up every day in the barn and on the track. After 30 years managing racehorses on the Louisiana circuit, the horses that stood out were rarely the ones with the …
Choosing how frequently to race a horse is one of the most important calls a trainer and owner make — and one of the easiest things for bettors to misread. Run them too tight and you start stacking fatigue, inviting injury, and dulling that edge that only real race pressure builds. Give them too much …
Most lameness doesn’t start with a limp. It starts with subtle changes in how a horse moves and protects itself — a shortened stride, hanging on one lead, stiffness through turns, or losing its finish late in work. These signs often appear long before any obvious gait change Signs of lameness in horses — what …
When I bought my first racehorse in 1994, I had the horse before I had a trainer — and no idea what separated a good one from a bad one. Thirty years of owning Thoroughbreds at Fair Grounds, Delta Downs, and Evangeline Downs taught me that a racehorse trainer’s decisions affect everything from race placement …