A horse race is a contest of speed between horses that are either ridden by jockeys or pulled by sulkies and their drivers. The sport has a long and distinguished history, being practiced in civilizations around the world from ancient times. It also plays an important role in mythology, like the horse race between Odin and Hrungnir in Norse mythology. Despite its long history, however, horse races are dangerous and can lead to serious injuries for the animals involved. In some cases, horse racing has been linked to equine abuse and cruelty, including a number of fatalities.

The word horse race is often used in a political context, as in “the horse race for the White House” or the “state’s Congressional seats.” This use of the term is problematic, however, because it distorts the meaning and purpose of horse racing. The real problem is the fact that the horse race focuses on only two candidates competing with one another for the presidency or state’s Congressional seats, rather than on all the potential choices. This skewing of the news cycle gives novel or unusual candidates a much smaller chance of winning and hurts third-party candidates who are not given proper coverage. This type of distorted reporting is called horse race journalism by critics of the practice.

Before a horse race begins, the horses are paraded past the judges in the paddock (the area at the track where the horses are stabled). The jockeys (riders) then weigh themselves before stepping on their mounts. The jockeys then enter the starting gate and the race begins. During the race, stewards and patrol judges, aided by a video camera and motion-picture cameras, watch for rule violations and ensure that all horses finish the race.

After the race, a winner is determined by the judges. The winner’s jockey gets a certain amount of money from the horse’s owner, referred to as the purse. The rest of the money is distributed to other entrants, depending on their finishing positions. The monetary value of the purse is usually printed in the form of a fraction, such as 5/8 or 2/3.

The for-profit horse racing industry creates the horses, profits off them in the racetrack business, and then sells them infinitely many times into unknown situations, where they are likely to die. This is a type of cruel exploitation that must be replaced with a system in which the horses have basic fundamental rights and are not discarded as a result of their no longer being profitable to the industry.