Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goal.
Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in the UK and steeplechasing in the US. Jump racing can be further divided into hurdling and steeplechasing.
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic premise – to identify which of two or more horses is the fastest over a set course or distance – has been mostly unchanged since at least classical antiquity.
The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace its bloodlines to 18th-century England. They are solid, well-built horses with good dispositions. In addition to harness racing, the Standardbred is used for a variety of equestrian activities, including horse shows and pleasure riding, particularly in the Midwestern and Eastern United States and in Southern Ontario.
Chariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games from a very early time. With the institution of formal races and permanent racetracks, chariot racing was adopted by many Greek states and their religious festivals. Horses and chariots were very costly. Their ownership was a preserve of the wealthiest aristocrats, whose reputations and status benefitted from offering such extravagant, exciting displays. Their successes could be further broadcast and celebrated through commissioned odes and other poetry.
Brigadier Gerard was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from June 1970 until October 1972, he won seventeen of his eighteen races. The colt is rated the best racehorse trained in Britain in the 20th century.
The Mill Reef Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-olds. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 6 furlongs, and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.
Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and three Grade 1 Jumps races.
Mill Reef was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a three-year career from 1970 to 1972, he won twelve of fourteen races and finished second in the other two. The horse was an outstanding two-year-old in 1970 but proved even better at three, winning the Epsom Derby, the Eclipse Stakes, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He won both his starts as a four-year-old before his racing career was ended by injury. Mill Reef is considered one of the greatest horses to run in Europe since WWII.
Cycling Time Trials is the bicycle racing organisation which supervises individual and team time trials in England and Wales. It was formed out of predecessor body the Road Time Trials Council (RTTC) in 2002.
Princequillo (1940–1964) was a Thoroughbred racehorse conceived in France and born in Ireland. He is known for his performances in long-distance races and his successes as a sire.
Salisbury Racecourse is a flat racecourse in the United Kingdom featuring thoroughbred horse racing, 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Fifteen race meetings a year are held there between early May and mid-October.
Rokeby Stables was an American thoroughbred racehorse breeding farm in Upperville, Virginia, involved with both steeplechase and flat racing. The operation was established in the late 1940s by Paul Mellon (1907–1999) who won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder in 1971 and again in 1986. Under Mellon the stable had more than 1,000 stakes race winners with total earnings in excess of US$30 million.
Ian Balding is a retired British horse trainer. He is the son of the polo player and racehorse trainer Gerald Matthews Balding and the younger brother of trainer Toby Balding. Ian Balding was born in the US, but his family returned to the UK in 1945. He was educated at Marlborough College and Millfield school in Somerset. He went up to Christ's College, Cambridge, in 1959 to read Rural Estate Management, where he played Rugby for the university team, gaining his Blue in 1961 at full back. He started training in 1964. Kingsclere became his home at the age of 26 and it is here that earned his reputation as an internationally respected trainer.
Horse racing in Wales has a long tradition dating back to the 18th century. Wales has held flat racing, National Hunt and harness racing, and presently has three racecourses, at Chepstow, Bangor-on-Dee and Ffos Las. The Welsh Grand National is held annually at Chepstow between Christmas and New Year and is the highlight of the Welsh racing calendar.
Glossary of North American horse racing:
Highclere (1971–1992) was a British thoroughbred racehorse owned by Queen Elizabeth II. In a racing career lasting from summer 1973 until October 1974 she ran eight times and won three races. Highclere won one minor race as a two-year-old but improved to win the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket Racecourse and Prix de Diane at Chantilly. She later finished second to Dahlia in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. She retired at the end of the season to become a highly successful and influential broodmare.
Rose Bowl (1972–1994) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. In a racing career which lasted from September 1974 until November 1976 she won six of her fourteen races and established herself as one of the best British race mares of the 1970s. After winning once as a two-year-old she won the Nell Gwyn Stakes on her first run in 1975 and then appeared to be a very unlucky loser of the 1000 Guineas. She returned from injury to show her best form in autumn, winning the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over one mile and then defeated a top-class international field in the ten furlong Champion Stakes. She won a second Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and was narrowly beaten in the Champion Stakes in 1976, when her season was again disrupted by injury. She was then retired from racing and became a successful and influential broodmare.
My Swallow was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He won eight of his eleven races in a racing career which lasted from May 1970 until July 1971. In 1970 he was undefeated in seven races including the Woodcote Stakes, Prix du Bois, Prix Robert Papin, Prix Morny, Prix de la Salamandre and Grand Critérium. My Swallow set a record for prize money won by a two-year-old in Europe and was rated the best of an exceptional crop of European juveniles. He won on his three-year-old debut, but then finished third to Mill Reef and Brigadier Gerard in the 2000 Guineas. My Swallow finished second in his two remaining races before being retired to stud. He had moderate success as a sire of winners in the United Kingdom and Japan.
