Horse races are an iconic form of competition in which competitors ride or drive horses to compete against one another. Horses bred for racing purposes often are jockeyed into races by jockeys, or pulled by small wagons or carts called sulkies. Horse racing dates back centuries and remains one of the world’s favorite sporting activities today; its exciting competition and engaging audience have profound cultural effects as well as contributing significantly to history.

The sport of racing is governed by its Rules of Racing, which outline both racetrack owners’ responsibilities as well as participant rights in a horse race. These regulations are meant to safeguard horse welfare while encouraging responsible behavior among participants; some key regulations include those prohibiting doping, race fixing and other illegal activities as well as setting minimum age and weight requirements before entering races.

A horse race may take place on various surfaces, from dirt and turf (grass) to Polytrack (an artificial surface that resembles natural grass). Each surface presents its own set of challenges: for instance, dirt races tend to be more hazardous than turf events and track surfaces can influence speed: for instance a muddy track slows a horse and makes running fast more challenging.

In certain horse races, winners are determined by a handicapping system which assigns each horse an individual point value and then adds these up for each racer in turn to find out their total winning score. The higher its points value is, the better its chance at victory is; these factors include performance history, earnings history and bloodlines of horses in question.

Another factor influencing the outcome of horse races is how much money has been staked by each participant; this figure typically represented as a percentage of the total pot. Most often, winning participants must pay a portion of their prize money as fees to the organizer of the race.

The inaugural horse race ever recorded was in France in 1651. Under Louis XIV (1715-43) betting became widespread, leading to royal decree regulating betting rules including setting weight restrictions and requiring certificates of origin for horses entering competition.

As a result of these developments, modern horse racing emerged in its modern form during the 1700s and by 1800 it had grown into a multibillion-dollar industry with various forms of betting; some races can even be watched live at stadiums!

No matter its popularity, some individuals remain concerned with how horse racing treats its horses. Unnatural training and confinement of horses involved can result in physical and mental suffering which manifests itself through biting, kicking and self-mutilation. According to PETA’s definition of its role as an animal welfare organization, their primary duty should be protecting animal welfare through reforms such as zero-tolerance drug policy for racing tracks only on grass tracks (no dirt tracks), ban on whipping practices as well as competitive racing only being available after three birthdays.