Horse racing is a global sport involving the training and racing of horses. It has a rich history dating back to ancient Greece, and it is played out in societies across the globe today. Its popularity and profitability have created a complex web of regulations governing the sport.

In the United States, racing is regulated by state and federal laws, and it is a highly profitable industry. A single race can generate up to $1 million in revenue, which is distributed among jockeys, owners, trainers, veterinarians, and track officials. Some of the money is used to fund maintenance and upgrades at the racetrack. The rest is used to pay purses, or monetary awards given to the top four or five finishers in each race.

Racehorses are bred to be fast and are trained to sprint over short distances of up to one mile. They are confined alone for 23 hours a day in 12-by-12-foot stalls, which can cause equine welfare issues such as cribbing (biting on the gate), pacing, and kicking. In a 2008 hearing before the New York state legislature, equine expert Kraig Kulikowski likened keeping a 1,000-pound horse in a stall to locking a 100-pound child in a four-by-four-foot closet for 23 hours a day.

Many horses suffer from serious injuries while running at such high speeds, and many bleed from their lungs as a result of exercising so hard. Injuries are exacerbated by the use of drugs such as Lasix, a diuretic with performance-enhancing properties. The drug masks the pain of an injury and increases a horse’s heart rate, but it can also have dangerous side effects such as dehydration and hypothermia.

Horse races are often a contest between opposing teams or individuals, and they may be won by either the fastest or most skillful horse and rider combination. The most prestigious races are called conditions races, and they offer the largest purses. In a condition race, all horses are allocated the same weight for fairness, but some allowances are made for age and sex.

Early professional riders, known as jockeys, were employed by noblemen and aristocrats to demonstrate the top speed of their horses by racing them over short distances, often on roads or open fields. The jockeys rode bareback and were often young boys. Until after the Civil War, Thoroughbreds were prized for their stamina rather than their speed. A century later, American breeders were determined to make their horses the fastest in the world. They did this by selecting and breeding the best young animals for a quick sprint, and they used whips to help them achieve this speed. In the process, they neglected their horses’ skeletal systems, and injuries to the legs, feet, and lungs became more common.