A horse race is a contest of speed among horses that are either ridden by jockeys or pulled by sulkies and their drivers. The best horses win big. But beneath the glossy veneer of this glamorous sport is a world of pain and suffering for the animals. Behind the glitzy hats and mint juleps are injuries, abustled animals, gruesome breakdowns and slaughter.

The most prestigious flat races in the world are run over distances that range from one to four miles and require both speed and stamina. The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Melbourne Cup and Epsom Derby are examples of this type of race. Many races also involve a number of hurdles that the horses must jump over in order to finish.

In the United States, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes are a part of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred racing. The Kentucky Derby is run over a one mile dirt track at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky and attracts more than 20 million viewers on TV. The race is widely regarded as the most important of all three events in the US because it is the first leg of the American Triple Crown, which can only be won by a horse that has won the other two races in the series.

Many horse races are handicapped, meaning that the racing secretary assigns weights designed to equalize the winning chances of entrants. The weights are based on factors such as the age and sex of the horse, its previous purse earnings and the types of wins it has had.

Another way to bet on a horse race is to place an across the board bet, which means that you are betting on the winner of the race as well as placing a bet on the horse to place and to show. The total amount you have bet is known as your handle.

Despite its glamorous veneer, horse racing is still a brutal sport for the animals. Horses are pushed far beyond their natural limits and often suffer serious injuries, such as traumatic breakdowns and hemorrhage from the lungs due to the high-speed dash racing they are forced to do. They are also drugged with a cocktail of legal and illegal drugs to mask their injuries and enhance their performance.

The Grand National is the most famous horse race in Europe and arguably one of the most difficult to win. The horses have to jump 30 fences and cover a distance of about 4 miles and 1 1/2 furlongs. Red Rum is perhaps the most famous horse to have won the race, although he was only successful in three out of his six attempts.

Although the rules of horse racing vary between different countries, most of them are based on the original rulebook developed by the British Horseracing Authority. These rules have helped to make horse racing a popular and profitable sport. There are now more than 200 horse racetracks in the world, including many outside the United States.