Welcome to the world of racehorses! Hopefully my page will give you some facts and interesting things that can better help you to understand the daily routines and lives of Standard bred Racehorses at Ladbrokes at the Meadows Racetrack.
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This is a picture of one of my racehorses, Grey Shades. It was taken in the summer of 1998. Grey Shades was an odd horse because of his color, gray. Most horses are either auburn, brown, black, or a mix. Some horses have a white "star" on their heads. Others may have blue eyes, although blue eyes are extremely uncommon. Sometimes when a horses eyes are going blue it could be because they're going blind. |
| This is a picture of another one of my horses, Western Romance. She had won this race and every winner gets a picture in the "Winner's Circle." She was a good horse and went on to win many races. |  |
There are many different aspects of a racehorse's life. They need to be kept clean, dry, and healthy. Another important thing is that they need daily exercise, even on the day of a race a slight jog is required to keep their muscles loose.
Caring for a racehorse is a huge responsibility. Each barn has a group of staff members that arrive early in the morning and stay till about 11:00 to care for the horses. This includes the drivers and trainers of the barn. They make sure that they are fed, their stalls are clean, and that they are in good condition to race.
About the Races
Although a race might seem simple and plain on the outside it actually is a very complicated matter. A lot of things must be done to the horses and for the actual race ahead of time for preparation. The first thing that must happen is generalizing the "class" of a horse. A horse's class is basically how good of a horse they are and how much money they race for. After that is done, they take the horses that were entered and place them in one of 2 classification races, claiming and non-claiming. A Claiming race is a race in which if someone wants a horse, they may "buy" it if it wins the race. This is how I acquired my one horse, Grey Shades. A Non-Claiming race is exactly the opposite, these horses are so good that they are not allowed to be "bought" unless the people want to sell them.
A usual race consists of 8 or 9 horses unless some are scratched. Horses may be scratched for various reasons. The may be sick, injured, have broken bones, be taking medication, or if the judges do not approve of their condition. During the Adios they may have as many as 14. The Adios is a yearly series of races where horses race for big money.
Well, there is just a little bit of common knowledge for you. If you want to know more, which I know you do, check out my other links for more interesting info!