A horse race is a competition in which horses compete to win a prize. Often, horse races are held in a stadium or arena. They can be a popular attraction, and people often place bets on the outcome of the race. Some horse races are open to the general public, while others are reserved for specific groups or clubs.

In a horse race, a group of horses run around an oval track and attempt to cross a finish line before any other competitors do so. The winner is awarded a certain amount of money or other prizes, depending on the rules of the race and the prize money offered by the track operator. In order to be eligible for a horse race, a horse must meet the minimum requirements set by the rules of the event and the track operator.

Most horse trainers, assistant trainers, jockeys, drivers and caretakers do a terrific job of looking after their charges and would never intentionally harm them. But as The Times and PETA pointed out in their recent stories, some in the sport still engage in dangerously drugging, starving or otherwise abusing their horses. This goes on, decade after decade, because the racing industry cannot police itself. State regulators are feckless and there is no uniformity among racing jurisdictions. The crooks in the business know they can get away with it, and so do the dupes who labor under the fantasy that the sport is broadly fair and honest.

When the crooks and dupes are caught, they usually end up in jail. But they keep doing what they are doing, and so do the masses in the middle who know that things are more crooked than they should be but don’t do everything they can to fix it.

To participate in a horse race, horses must have pedigrees that meet the minimum requirements of the event and the track operator. This includes having a sire and dam who are both purebred. In addition, horses must be at least three years old to run in most events and five or six for the best chance of winning a major race.

Before a horse race, the horse will be conditioned with routine jogs and gallops, beginning in the wee hours of the morning. During these workouts, the horse will be asked to run faster and for longer distances. Trainers will also have their horses “work” or breeze, which means that they will exercise them at a higher-than-normal pace for a certain number of timed miles to help prepare them for the real thing.

In a horse race, the winners are the highest-scoring horses that complete the specified course in the fastest time. The horses are judged by their speed, distance covered and sex, as well as the amount of weight they carry. Other factors such as the weather, the track and a horse’s previous performance can influence the outcome of a race. The most popular race in the United States is the Kentucky Derby, which is a grade I stakes race for Thoroughbred horses.