No matter what sort of horse racing fan you are, you probably have a list of horse races that you consider to be the best out there. We agree with that and our favorite top three horseraces in the United States have to be the Belmont State, Preakness, and the Kentucky Derby. We wait weeks and months for these races and follow betting odds, jockey careers, and can't wait for the visit to the track or the television show to entice us even more.
Why did we pick these three when there are so many? Because it is our list, not yours and we want to talk about them, where they are, the smell of the track, and the history behind these three events. First off, these three events make up the Triple Crown series and are run in this order: ?Kentucky Derby - Held the first Saturday in May ?Preakness - Run two weeks later ?Belmont Stakes - Runs three weeks later
Why do we enjoy the Triple Crown so much when we could, as horse wagers, make more money on perhaps other races? Because they're cool, celebrities attend them-heck, even Queen Elizabeth II came to the Kentucky Derby - those are races we like to talk about!
First, what's up with the Kentucky Derby? Well, beyond those taste bud tempting Mint Juleps we all sip or perhaps consume too many of, this Grade One race is for our favorite three year-old thoroughbreds and held each year in Louisville, Kentucky after the fun and exciting two week event of the Derby Festival. This event-filled race is one and a quarter miles at the spectacular Churchill Downs and has the old nickname, ?The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports!? If you haven't heard that term, what about ?The Run For The Roses?? Sure, we know you've heard one of those terms. The thoroughbreds that run this race aim to beat the 1973 record of 1:59 2/5 set by Secretariat in 1973. Or, maybe as fans, they want to see which jockey will beat out the most winning jockeys?Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack?both won this race six times. Anyway, we love this race and dream of sitting with the wealthy ladies with hats, have a few Mint Julep's, and maybe sop up some great Burgoo Stew'a heck of a time.
We also love the Preakness?even the name is cool. The last three years have brought us horse names like Big Brown, Curlin, and Bernardini; all of these super horses won this race. Also a Grade One race for three-year old thoroughbreds held in Baltimore, Maryland at the Pimlico Race Course, this race has been called ?The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans.? We cheer here watching those horses run this 1-3/16 mile race and can't wait for that old black-eyed Susan to be hung around the winner's neck. Mostly, we like betting on this race and being forced to sing Maryland, My Maryland, even if we're not from there.
The Belmont Stakes, another amazing betting opportunity, oops, we mean horse race, is also a Grade One race and is held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York and is the final leg of the Triple Crown?not to be confused with Crown Royal. This 1.5-mile race is also for those thoroughbreds we crave watching and what about all those Carnations? Well, they do call this race ?The Run For The Carnations,? so maybe those horses do like those flowers draped all over them, probably much more than the thorny roses at the Kentucky Derby. Here we all get to sing the theme from ?New York, New York,? even if we don't know the words. Most of us remember that Billy Shoemaker won this race five times and still love him, even if Eddie Arcaro has won it six times. We like it even more that Secretariat's time of 2:24 has never been beat as of yet, but there's always 2009.
Well, those are our favorite three and even if we can't get seats (we can't afford them), we sing, we laugh, eat, and all bet who will win, what will be the best time, and if we are holding the winning ticket. Check them all out next time?especially if you know the words to the traditional songs of each.
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One of the most cherished events that take place in Italy is the Palio. From far and wide, regionally and globally; people travel all the way to come and witness this exciting horse racing event so that by the time the whole thing is over, there are lots of talks and snapshots being exchanged all around the place. The Palio is a tourism magnet for the Italians and other Europeans who always look forward to this wonderful event. The Palio horse race is both a tourist attraction for the country and a money spinner for the tourism industry as well. Days before the actual event is held, people would have already been preparing in different ways. From those who are buying costumes for that special day to those who would be taking good advantage of the occasion to make quick returns on any goods or services they are offering. The Palio is heralded with lots of fun and fanfare with many activities to back it up. There are parades and processions all contributing to make the main event worth attending. You will come across people from diverse cultures from all around the world who all converge in Italy to be a part of the fun train.
The horse race event presents a good opportunity to make new friends as well as learn new things about the famous Italian celebration. The Palio horse race is an event whereby bare-back horse races are conducted every summer. The horse race is usually held in Piazza del Campo immediately after the procession is finished. The Palio is a fascinating sport for the players while for spectators; the horse race remains a lovely spectacle that must not be missed. Palio is a little cruel when judged by the way the sport is played. The real protagonists in the game are the horses which keep racing (and may still win too) even if in the course of the race, they mistakenly lose their jockeys or riders. For those who have never watched it, the real surprise in Palio is that the entire race only lasts for a little above 5 minutes as it goes round the edges of Piazza del Campo. In order to get acquainted with the major phases of the Palio horse race, four days are set aside for the celebration. It is equally important to know out of 17 contrade, only ten will run every time. Furthermore, their participation in the race is often decided by means of a draw.
This draw takes place not less than 20 days before each Palio race is scheduled to hold. The 7 contrade that did not run in the race of that same day, the year before, are eligible to run; the other 3 contrade are drawn from the initial 10 that had participated. The draft is the procedure by which horses are allocated to the 10 contrade who participate in the Palio horse race. The third day, in the morning before the race, the racing horses are presented one after the other by their owners, the presentation is done in the courtyard of the Municipality Town Hall, also known as the Entrone. Here, they are thoroughly examined by veterinarians who have been delegated by the municipality. Theirs is to evaluate the physical conditions and morphology of the racing horses. These horses are first put into different groups for trial purposes. They are then tested for only 3 laps around the Piazza del Campo so that they can be evaluated for their adaptability to the racing tracks. After the trial runs, the captains come together before the Mayor in order to decide which horses adapt the most.
Next, the draw is conducted on an open platform outside the Entrone or Municipality Town Hall. Afterwards, one horse is assigned a contrada. There are usually six trials which all take place at 9:00 am every morning and evening around 7:00 pm. After the Parade is over, there is a big burst of canon fire that is announced to signify the jockeys? departure from the Entrone. Every jockey is handed a horse whip which he uses to incite his horse to further ignite a forward response. The jockey uses these strategies to block other opponents during the course of the race. Before the actual race begins, the starter opens the race with the lowering of the rope. The start is considered invalid if the cracker goes off and stops the horses. In this case, the race has to be re-started. The horses and their jockeys have to run round the tracks thrice, for a total of about a thousand meters. The first horse to finish the race is declared the winner and is thus approved by 3 winners? judges. There is a victory dinner that is usually held for the winning horse and contrada.
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