Ricky Bundy, age 12, of Las Vegas, Nev., for his question:
WHEN DID HORSE RACING START?
Men have probably been racing horses since the animals were first domesticated. The earliest races were matches between two horses, with the owners usually being the jockeys. Then in the 1100s, Englishmen discovered that Arabian and Moroccan horses could run very fast and wealthy owners began importing and breeding them.
Race organizers found out early on that these faster horses could not run so far as the slower breeds, and they shortened the distances of the runs.
Horse racing is sometimes called the sport of kings because in the early days only kings and noblemen were able to take part in it. Today millions of fans attend horse races every year.
The world's first race track was built in London about 1170.
Steeplechasing developed from the sport of racing hunting horses across country. The riders used convenient markers such as church steeples as guides. Steeplechasing was popular in Britain as early as 1600.
Thoroughbred horse racing became popular in the United States after the Civil War. By about 1900, it had developed into an exciting and popular spectator sport.
The British classic races started between 1776 and 1814. The Kentucky Derby, the most famous horse race in the U.S., was first run in 1875. Today horse racing takes place on flat, oval tracks made of sand, topsoil and clay. Some of the races, however, are held on grass. The track is usually one mile or a mile and an eighth. Most races cover distances of from two to 16 furlongs. A furlong equals one eighth of a mile.
There are usually eight or nine races held in an afternoon. The races are spaced about 10 minutes apart to give the spectators time to pick the horses they believe will win, and to place their bets.
Horses tend to fall in various classes according to speed. A horse usually runs within its class because it has a better chance of winning.
Racetrack operators also try to make competition keen among the horses in each class. They do this by giving handicaps to certain horses.
Horses are handicapped by adding weight or by removing some of the weight they carry. This gives each horse a fair chance to win. Generally, the fastest horses carry the most weight. Or a younger horse might carry less weight than an older, experienced one.
In harness races, the horses pull drivers in light, two wheeled carts called sulkies. There are two kinds of harness horses: pacers and trotters. A pacer moves its right front and right hind legs forward at the same time, then its left legs. A trotter moves its right front and left hind legs forward together, and then its other two legs.
Steeplechasing is a form of racing in which the horses jump over fences. Sometimes ditches or pools of water are placed on the other side of the fences.
Hurdling is a branch of steeplechasing in which the horses jump over a series of small fences.