A horse race is a competition between a racehorse and another competing animal or human. Typically, races are held on a racetrack or other open area. A race is usually a test of speed, endurance and skill. A race is also an opportunity for spectators to place bets on the outcome. Often, the winning horse is awarded a prize.

The word horse race is sometimes used in the context of a political contest. In a political horse race, voters may be swayed by name calling and attack ads from one candidate or another. These tactics can obscure the real issues in a race, and make it difficult for voters to distinguish between candidates.

In the case of horse racing, a great race can lift a horse from simple greatness to immortality. Such is the case with a number of horses, most notably Secretariat in the Belmont Stakes and Mandarin in Paris. The greatest races are prestigious and involve the biggest horses, with staggering sums of money on offer.

Traditionally, horse races have been a game of chance, with owners providing the purse and offering a simple wager to anyone who wants to play. In time, agreements to bet on the race were written up by disinterested third parties, who came to be known as keepers of the match book.

Modern horse races are regulated by an international group of authorities, the IFHA World Thoroughbred Horse Racing Authority. These authorities set the rules of horse racing for most of the world, and are based in North America and Europe. Rules for horse racing are designed to ensure that the races are fair, and include a system of handicapping that assigns weights to each participant. Weights are determined by a horse’s history of performance, sex, age and other factors.

There is no single race that can be identified as the most important in the world, since the sport is played over many different distances and on a variety of surfaces. However, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, run on a long race course in Paris, France, is considered the pinnacle of European flat racing. The race has been running since 1920, and is the most prestigious race of its kind in the world. Spectators from around the world attend the race, and many are drawn by the prestige, glitz, and social interaction that surrounds it. The race is contested by top racehorses from all over the globe, and bets of staggering amounts are placed. In addition, it is a prestigious event for breeders and owners. The race has an impressive prize money total of over US$1.5 million. The winner of the race is crowned the Arc de Triomphe champion.