The People in Horse Racing

A lot goes in to a day at the race track – behind the horse and the jockey there are breeders, trainers, and owners. Horse racing is a big industry, and when you make a bet you are becoming a part of a huge scene that many people share a passion for.

This article will take a look at the people involved in the sport, and give you some idea of the role they play.

The Breeders

Breeders run horse farms and hope to produce new champions. They devote their time to studying bloodlines, and matching the best sires (fathers) and dams (mothers) to make the best foal that they can. 

All thoroughbreds have a birthday of January 1^st, no matter when they were actually born – this because many races are restricted to a certain age, and a universal birthdate makes age requirements simpler.

The young horse is separated from its mother during its first autumn, and is trained with other young horses, called 'weanlings'. In the spring more serious training begins, and the horse is eventually sent off to be trained at a dedicated training center. 

The Trainers

Trainers spend a lot of time with the horses. It is their job to build up a horses endurance and speed, keep them fit, teach them to race, and help them recover from any injuries they sustain.

Trainers are paid on a day to day basis, and also get a share of the owner's winnings when a horse wins a race.

A trainer has the job of identifying the class of a horse – assessing their potential, and training them accordingly. T hey will exercise the horse each morning, taking them on longer workouts to build stamina, and short ones – up to around half a mile, to build speed.

As a bettor, it is worth paying attention to the trainers – they are very influential in the development of the horse. Pay attention to which ones have a good track record, and you will have more chance of picking a winner.

The Owners

While many horses are owned by relatively wealthy people, there are some horses owned by partnerships or small groups that have pooled money together to buy and keep a horse.

The owners are the ones who design the 'silks' that the jockeys wear. These silks are brightly coloured with distinctive patterns, making them easy to spot when looking out across the race track. Silks have been used in horse racing since the early days of the sport, and are still used by race callers as the means to identify each horse.

The Jockeys

For most casual fans, the jockeys are the ones most recognised, as they spend more time in the public eye. Jockeys do not always ride the same horse. They usually employ an agent who secures them a horse for each race. Very good jockeys may get several offers for a particular race, and it is up to the agent to select the horse most likely to perform well.

Jockeys tend to be quite small – usually weighing less than 115 pounds.   They also have to be very athletic, to be able to control a horse that could be moving at up to 40 miles per hour.

As a bettor, it is important to pay attention to the performance of each jockey – the good jockeys usually get offered good horses on a consistent basis, so it is relatively easy to handicap a jockey.

The Horses

The real stars, naturally, are the horses. The Thoroughbred breed comes from the Middle East, where breeding strong, fast horses was a popular pursuit of Arab rulers. 

When a horse is born it is registered with The Jockey Club, who notes the pedigree of the horse. Each horse has a unique name, which can be up to 18 letters long. There are thousands of names registered with The Jockey Club – some of which are no longer in use, but cannot be picked by a new horse.

When betting on horse racing, consider the performance of the horse on similar ground and in similar conditions in previous races, but also check to see if the jockey is different this time around.