A horse race is a contest of speed among horses either ridden by jockeys or pulling sulkies driven by their drivers. It is also the name of a type of political race, in which candidates try to pull ahead of each other in the polls. While a presidential horse race is the classic example of a horse race, the term can be used more broadly to refer to close competition between two or more opponents.

Companies often use a horse race approach to select their next chief executive officer, but this method of leadership assessment can be disruptive when it is not done well. Rather than relying on a horse race to identify the best candidate, boards and current CEOs should establish succession processes that are designed to prepare senior-level leaders for more challenging roles.

Horse racing as a sport dates back thousands of years, and it is one of the world’s most popular spectator sports. The sport has a rich history and involves many different disciplines and types of races. Some of the most prestigious races are known as handicap races, in which each horse is assigned a weight to carry. This weight factor takes into account several factors, including the horse’s age and gender.

The earliest races were match races between two or at most three horses, and they were based on a simple wager: an owner who withdrew forfeited half the purse, and later the whole. These early races were recorded by disinterested third parties, who became known as keepers of the match books. The first of these was John Cheny at Newmarket in England, who began publishing An Historical List of All the Horse-Matches Run (1729).

As dash racing became the rule and a few inches in a few seconds became important, the ability to coax the most advantage from the pacers’ gaits evolved. The pacing gait is the only horse-racing gait in which the front and back legs move in unison on the same side of the body. In order to prevent a horse from “breaking stride” and losing the race, most pacers wear hobbles on their legs — straps connecting the front leg to the back leg.

Using the horse race model as a point of comparison, the researchers found that when news media treat elections as if they were a horse race, this elevates public cynicism about politics and the issues at stake in those elections. This is especially true for younger people who may have limited experience with the democratic process. In addition to highlighting the potential of horse races as a way to evaluate political leaders, the research findings suggest that journalists should pay more attention to examining the performance of underdogs, who can often surprise in horse races. This lesson could prove invaluable in the upcoming presidential election.