Horse Racing

[George1994]

Hey everyone,

Any racing fans in our midst? I have gotten into racing quite big over the last 2 years, really following the European scene. I've not followed the American or Australian races much, I do know of the big races however!

Jumps season over in the UK now, AP McCoy doing the usual and is well on his way to becoming the champion jockey for a 20th consecutive seasons! Incredible! I know jumps aren't big at all in America, great fun to watch, such incredible animals and the bravery of the horses and jockeys is incredible!

Has been a great year for the flat! Taghrooda has been an amazing mare, we saw Al Kazeem make a comeback after proving to be sub-fertile, Treve came back to win the Arc for the third time! Slade power, what can I say? Not a bad year in the betting ring for me either, won some good money on Take Cover at Glorious Goodwood, Taghrooda won lots of people lots of money.

My horse of the year?... Kingman, watch videos of him, watch his turn of foot! Great horse!

Horses to watch next year, Kingston Hill, The Grey Gatsby and Eagle top if allowed to run as a 4 year old! Also keep an eye on Ivawood! Hannon made a mistake taking him out to Newmarket on the softer ground, knowing full well he runs his best on the harder ground!

[George1994]

Just landed two legs of a treble! 'I'm in Charge' in the 15:40 @ Towchester and I'm in for a couple hundred quid!

[George1994]

The legendary AP McCoy | Clare Balding for Channe…: http://youtu.be/MUSejn6im44

Very interesting short video about the legend in jumps that is AP McCoy. If many of you Americans don't know him, which I suspect you don't, give it a watch. Incredible sportsman.

The Real MCCOY (Inside Story Of Champion Jockey A…: http://youtu.be/DT2JHSVkKWA

Here is a longer documentary to show his dedication to the sport.

[Spoons]

Worked at a racetrack last summer as EMT/Security. It was interesting to be able to see the behind the scenes of everything from an "insiders" perspective. the inner workings of what the public sees is super interesting to me.

[George1994]

Worked at a racetrack last summer as EMT/Security. It was interesting to be able to see the behind the scenes of everything from an "insiders" perspective. the inner workings of what the public sees is super interesting to me.

What are your views of it as an 'insider' of horse racing? Was this over in America or Europe? Possibly Australia or Asia too haha! Not many users from there though to be fair.

[Spoons]

America. And to be totally honest working there gave me an extreme distate of horse racing as a sport. They treat those horses terribly, and 90% of the jockeys are absolute stuck up jerks who think they are the most important thing to happen to the industry, and there's a stereotype of drug use with them (and a not entirely unwarranted one). I do commend their abilities to be thrown from a horse and land on their feet, though.

It was a fun job, we were half casino too so there was much more to do than just with racing. And the people were always very interesting to say the least!

[George1994]

America. And to be totally honest working there gave me an extreme distate of horse racing as a sport. They treat those horses terribly, and 90% of the jockeys are absolute stuck up jerks who think they are the most important thing to happen to the industry, and there's a stereotype of drug use with them (and a not entirely unwarranted one). I do commend their abilities to be thrown from a horse and land on their feet, though.

It was a fun job, we were half casino too so there was much more to do than just with racing. And the people were always very interesting to say the least!

I have heard a lot about horse racing in America, and there is a reason that there are few American horses that race in the big British flat races. They can use drugs which you can't in the UK, and I know that the majority of trainers that take their horses to the US from Europe do not use them once they get over there. I am an avid follower of horse racing in the UK, and know for a fact over here that the horses are very well looked after, I own shares in a racehorse, Little Jimmy, and trainers/owners who don't abide by the laws set out by the BHA are come down on very hard. The same president is set by a lot of Europe, mainly France and Germany. I will agree with you about the jockeys, a lot do seem self entitled. But their dedication is plain for everyone to see, travelling 400 miles for 2 rides at a wet Newcastle just to get back at 1am to go into the sauna to sweat it out will have that effect on you after 15 years. Some are amazing, like AP McCoy, he loves his horses, loves the job, the people! Was in with a shot of reaching 300 winners this jump season, has had to take 2 weeks out. Broke 8 ribs in an accident a few years back. Jumps racing is vastly different to flats as well, it is by quite a way bigger in the UK than the flat, more money in the races and the horses are loved more. The jockeys have a camaraderie, they know that on average every 1/9 rides they will fall, with half ton animals coming over a jump and landing where they are laying. Injuries are common, deaths are not very common but still happen more than your normal occupation.

[Spoons]

I can't speak for other countries, but I'm glad there are more regulations at least. We DO use drugs on the horses here, painkillers to make them sound for running, etc. It should not be allowed. One of my main beefs, besides general treatment, is that they are racing the horses so young. It often cripples them to put so much stress on their growing bodies, and most Off Track thoroughbreds I know have some kind of problem from their racing career (I own horses, so I've got a few hands in the general horse industry). They race them hard young and then dump them after they're not good enough any more.

This is of course a generalization, and I do know there are good jockeys and good owners and whatnot. I've seen a few myself - though I do think that here, at least a little bit of that jockey dedication comes from that $$$ they bring in

I'd be interested in looking into it more overseas. It sounds like a much more pleasant operation over there!

[George1994]

I can't speak for other countries, but I'm glad there are more regulations at least. We DO use drugs on the horses here, painkillers to make them sound for running, etc. It should not be allowed. One of my main beefs, besides general treatment, is that they are racing the horses so young. It often cripples them to put so much stress on their growing bodies, and most Off Track thoroughbreds I know have some kind of problem from their racing career (I own horses, so I've got a few hands in the general horse industry). They race them hard young and then dump them after they're not good enough any more.

This is of course a generalization, and I do know there are good jockeys and good owners and whatnot. I've seen a few myself - though I do think that here, at least a little bit of that jockey dedication comes from that $$$ they bring in

I'd be interested in looking into it more overseas. It sounds like a much more pleasant operation over there!

I Couldn't agree with that first statement more. The flat horses often start at two years of age and peak at about 3 or 4. A jump horse will rarely start a race before their 4th or 5th birthday, due to the size that they need to be to race the races they race in. I know Australia has a problem with the amount of horses that die and also the amount of jockeys that die, 2.2 on average a year. This is mainly due to the firmness of the ground that they run on. What we in the UK would class as good ground, they class as soft! Horse racing certainly still has its demons, but it seems Europe has cleaned up its act a bit over the past 30 years. I can't speak for Asia, I don't follow the racing over there much, I know of a few Japanese star horses and that is about all. Glad to see there is one other person on this site with some knowledge of horse racing, and I would suggest watching some videos of AP McCoy, and the flat jockey, Richard Hughes, who was yesterday crowned the British flat champion jockey 3 years in a row. Do you know much about jumps racing being from America? From what I gather it is non-existent over the pond?

[Spoons]

I will have to look up some videos when I have a chance! You're right though I have no idea what jumps racing is other than it sounds dangerous, haha. I looked it up a bit and of course the first thing I see is a bunch of "JUMPS RACING KILLS, BAN IT" websites. I will look a bit deeper - I like to get my own info on things rather than listening to extremist websites, haha. Really, EVERY horse sport is dangerous in some way (look at eventing, for instance, it's similar to jumps racing it looks like but solo). I'll have to look up some videos of it and look more into the regulations and whatnot, it looks interesting enough.