New to the sport of horse racing? Great! There are few things that can make your heart pound as hard as the two minutes of a race.
But if you’ve just begun following the sport, all the jargon and pieces of information can be confusing. So we have you covered.
Check back frequently or submit a question in the comments section below for more information.
Q: Why are horses with the same father not considered half-siblings?
A: It’s typical for a Thoroughbred stallion to sire over a hundred foals a year. Because of sheer numbers, if you were to refer to every horse who shared the same sire as a half-sibling, things would get very confusing. So although they are genetically related if they have the same sire, we only refer to horses as half-siblings if they have the same mother.
For example, both the 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense and 2008 Champion Older Female Zenyatta are sired by the stallion Street Cry. But we don’t refer to them as half-siblings. Zenyatta is half-siblings with multiple grade I winner Balance, who is sired by a different stallion but was born from the same mother, Vertigineux.
Q: What’s a furlong?
A: A furlong is an eighth of a mile. So one mile is eight furlongs. Most race distances are listed in furlongs. For example, you may not hear people describing the Blue Grass Stakes as a “mile and an eighth race.” It’s more common to hear people saying it is a “nine furlong race.” Workouts are often referred to in furlongs. If you hear that a horse “breezed four furlongs,” it means that the horse galloped four-eighths, or a half mile, in morning training.
Q: What’s a maiden race?
A: A maiden race is for horses who have never won before. Most horses will start their career in one of these races and then progress through other levels of competition. When a horse “breaks its maiden,” it means it has won for the first time.
Q: What does it mean if I hear someone say a horse is “taking a drop in class?”
A: It means the horse is running against less difficult competition than it has been in the past. A trainer may drop a horse in class if the horse has been struggling against the more difficult competition; this can increase the chances of a victory and also help build the horse’s confidence back up if it has been losing races frequently.
For example, if a horse is running third and fourth in grade I stakes races, a trainer may drop a horse down into a grade II or grade III race where it may be better matched against the competition. A horse who is struggling in allowance races worth $50,000 may become a winner in allowance races worth $30,000.
