Horse Racing

Horse racing is a great British passtime and is enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people every year. The most common way that people are involved in horse racing is by being spectators at a race course or watching horse racing at home. Racing events at courses like Ascot and Windsor have a national profile and the annual Grand National which takes place at Aintree race course in April each year is almost a national celebration of horse racing.

There are around 60 licenced racecourses in this country. Each course has its own individual characteristics. This makes visiting the different horse racing courses this country very interesting and offers the opportunity for a memorable and enjoyable experience.

A great many horses are bred to take part in horse racing and it goes without saying that competition between breeders is fierce. With horse races offering substantial prize money for winning horses successful breeders can expect to recieve significant income from their endeavours.

Jockeys are contracted by trainers to ride their horses in horse races. Many but by no means all professional jockeys make a living solely through horse racing.

In Britain there are two types of horse racing. There is 'flat racing' and there is races over fences or hurdles (also known as national hunt racing). National Hunt Racing (racing over fences and hurdles) are Chase (fences), Hurdling (hurdling) or occasionally you will find National Hunt 'flat racing' for novices. There is also another type of horse racing called point to point or Steeplechase.

The British Horseracing Authority (created through a merger of the British Horseracing Board and the Horseracing Regulatory Authority) is the governing and the regulatory body for British horseracing. Their remit is extensive and includes race planning, managing disciplinary procedures and licensing and registering racing participants including jockeys and trainers.