Horse racing is one of the world’s oldest sports, and its basic concept has remained unchanged over the centuries. Whether a race is a simple contest of speed or a complex spectacle with elaborate electronic monitoring equipment, the horse and rider that crosses the finish line first wins. This is not to suggest that the sport is infallible; in fact, horse racing has suffered from corruption and exploitation. Some people argue that it is inhumane and should be abolished entirely. Others believe that reforms should be made to ensure the safety of horses and riders.

Different national horse racing institutions may have their own regulations on how races should be conducted. However, most of them are patterned on the founding rulebook of the British Horseracing Authority. For example, all horse races are supposed to be commenced with a flag or a starting gate, and a stall is required for all flat races. A stall is also required for steeplechases, barrier races, and jumping races.

In addition to regulating the size of field, horse racing also has rules on the age, sex, and birthplace of horses as well as the qualifications of riders. In the past, many races were only open to certain classes of horses and riders. For example, a rider must have won a number of races to be eligible to participate in a King’s Plate. These restrictions have been gradually eased over time.

Many horse races are run over long distances. These long distances require the horses to be conditioned in advance. The most important training activity is to build up a horse’s aerobic capacity. In order to achieve this, horse trainers often encourage their horses to eat more food and run more frequently.

These workouts are often very intense. As a result, many horses suffer from various health problems. These include a variety of injuries and breakdowns, which can be fatal. In some cases, these injuries are caused by the use of whips and illegal electric-shocking devices. The horses also often bleed from their lungs, a condition known as exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. In order to reduce the amount of bleeding, horses are often given cocktails of legal and illegal drugs.

While many of these ailments can be prevented, some horses are still prone to breaking down during a race. Each week, an average of 24 horses experience fatal breakdowns in New York alone. This is a sad statistic, and it doesn’t even take into account the thousands of other Thoroughbreds who are discarded by owners or trainers when they no longer make money.