If there’s one sport that proves to be a purely exhilarating experience for both the competitors and the spectators, it has to be horse-racing. Watching from the stands as a large group of powerful horses charge towards the finish line at incredible speeds is a truly nail-biting affair, let alone being one of the daring jockeys competing in the race. No wonder then, that the sport is the second most watched spectator sport in the UK, only trailing behind soccer. It’s not just massively popular there though, as it is also adored in many countries globally, including the USA.
Horse-racing events are known to be huge social occasions, with punters travelling far and wide to get to enjoy the lavish sporting festivities that normally take place over a few days. A big part of the attraction is the ability to bet on the outcomes of the races, which adds even more to the excitement of the crowd as they hope to have backed the winning horse. Don’t worry if you can’t make it to an event though, as through the wonders of the internet, you can easily bet on horses.
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Let’s take a look at some of the biggest horse-racing events in the world.
Kentucky Derby Festival
Easily the most popular horse-racing event in the whole of the USA, the Kentucky Derby Festival has been taking place annually since 1935 on the two weeks before the first weekend of May. Though it then had a nineteen-year hiatus from 1937, it restarted in 1956. The event originated as a precursor to the legendary Kentucky Derby race, which continues to always end the festival in style.
Located at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, the flat race-track is only actually 1.24 miles in length, meaning that the races are blisteringly quick. It was because of this that the Kentucky Derby, which is a Grade 1 stakes race, earned the nickname ‘The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sport’ due to its incredibly brief, yet wholly intense, duration.
The Grand National Festival
Located at Aintree Racecourse, which is definitely one of the best racing tracks across Europe, this event is the highlight of UK racing, though many argue that it’s also the crown jewel worldwide. The Grand National Festival’s origins can be traced right back to 1839, when a horse named Lottery became the first winner of the Grand Liverpool Steeplechase, which then evolved into the race that is now watched by more than 500 million people globally.
The event annually takes place at the beginning of April, and features three days of racing in-front of packed crowds. The main event though, is the Grand National itself, which is a staggering showcase of both stamina and speed. This lengthy steeplechase has the horses running 4 miles and 2 ½ furlongs, and over a total of thirty fences. Some of these jumps are scarily high, and the race is famous for producing many heart-in-the-mouth moments.
Dubai World Cup Night
If you’re looking for the place where the most money can be won by the victorious jockeys, then you need to look no further than the Dubai World Cup Night, which features races that have a prize purse that dwarves the rest of the pack. One of the youngest events on the racing calendar, with it only being founded in 1996, the Dubai World Cup Night takes place annually on the last Saturday in March, and has cemented itself as one of the occasions of the year.
The event now takes place in state-of-the-art Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,
which can fit up to 60,000 fans inside its massive mile-long grandstand, and because of the sweltering heat, the races all take place at night. There’s nine-races in total across the event, culminating with the biggest monetary prize in horse-racing at the Dubai World Cup, which has a staggering $12 million up for grabs, and the first horse across the finishing line getting a mammoth $7.2 million.
