Education

Graded stakes represent elite thoroughbred horse races in the United States where the top horses come from around the world to compete against the best - and win the largest purses. Races must meet minimum requirements and are assigned one of four grades - I, II, III, or “listed”.

Jockeys may appear to rally their steeds for victory, but what if they're really setting the stage for a surprising turn of events? Here's how jockeys hook horses and how to spot the cheats.

Horses love to run, making them a perfect fit for racing competition. Here's everything you need to know about horses to assist. you in your handicapping process.

Those magical numbers handicappers use (whether they admit it or not) to rank horses in a summary fashion. There are a variety to choose from but the big ones are Beyer, Bris, and TimeformUS.

It’s called the “hidden fraction” because it is not clearly evident in horse racing past performances data. Many believe it’s the most important datapoint in the data.

A 2015 study shows that the running performance of Thoroughbred racehorses peaks around the beginning of their fourth year. The report's results matched previous results that studied horses in the United States, Brazil, and Japan.

Does the jockey's role matter in horse racing? Yes, but only slightly. Horse-racing enthusiasts often claim that a jockey contributes 10 percent of a horse's performance on any given day. Although this isn't a scientific fact, it emphasizes a jockey's role: while they can't significantly improve

The subjectivity of time in relation to racehorses lies in the fact that it only measures the speed of the horse, not the manner of its travel. Workout timings add to the complexity because we do not know the trainers intent and cannot be assured the horse is being pushed to its maximum effort.

The underrepresentation of fillies, or young female horses, in horse racing when compared to colts, or young male horses, is a multifaceted issue that primarily stems from certain breeding practices.

Check out these little-known and often misunderstood horse racing facts.