How fast can racehorses run?

The American Quarter Horse, a short, stocky breed used to ‘cut’ cattle from herds, is renowned for its speed over short distances, hence its name. Uncorroborated reports suggest that such horses are capable of reaching speeds approaching 55 miles per hour over two furlongs, or a quarter of a mile. However, the fastest racehorse over that distance, as recognised by Guinness World Records, was a thoroughbred, Winning Brew, trained by Francis Vitale. In May, 2008, the two-year-old filly covered the quarter of a mile at Penn National Racecourse in Grantville, Pennsylvania in 20.57 seconds, clocking an average speed pf 43.97 miles per hour.

Of course, in Britain, Ireland and other jurisdictions, the official minimum distance for any horse race, on an enclosed racecourse, is five furlongs. Again, as recognised by Guinness World Records, the fastest horse over this distance was a thoroughbred, although this time a four-year-old, Stone Of Folca, trained by John Best. In June, 2012, Stone Of Folca belied odds of 50/1 when beating 19 rivals to win the Investec Specialist Bank ‘Dash’ Handicap at Epsom Racecourse in Surrey in a time of 53.69 seconds, at an average speed of 41.67 miles per hour.

Which type of bet is most profitable?

The main reason that bookmakers are keen to promote multiple bets, such as doubles, trebles and accumulators, is that they are inherently more risky and therefore more profitable, for the layer, than single bets. Of course, such bets provide tasty bait for small-stakes punters – even without the added consolation of three, four or even five times the odds for a single winner in some cases – and bookmakers are quite happy to risk the occasional huge payout in return for regular profits.

By contrast, the single bet, specifically, the single win bet, is the least profitable of all horse racing bets for bookmakers. From the punter’s perspective, a single win bet is straightforward, involves no wastage of stakes and affords better bankroll management than any form of multiple bet. Furthermore, attempting to find a single selection to win a race focusses the mind on the strengths and weaknesses of the horse in question; the unit stake could be, say, 10, 50 or 100 times that placed on a typical multiple bet, so the selection process becomes a sharp, decisive – and, hopefully, profitable – exercise.

Who trained Desert Orchid?

Who trained Desert Orchid? Desert Orchid was an immensely popular grey – in fact, towards the end of his career, almost white – horse, who won 34 of his 70 starts over hurdles and fences and remains the sixth highest-rated steeplechaser in the history of Timeform. He was trained, throughout his career, by David Elsworth, who first took out a training licence in his own right in 1978. At the peak of his powers, Elsworth had 143 horses in his yard at Whitsbury Manor Stables, near Fordingbridge, Hampshire.

Elsworth won the National Hunt Trainers’ Championship just once, in 1987/88, but nonetheless saddled Desert Orchid to win the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on four times, in 1986, 1988, 1989 and 1990 and the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse in 1990. However, the defining moment for horse and trainer came at Cheltenham on March 16, 1989.

Despite being better going right-handed – a stone better, according to jockey Simon Sherwood – and unsuited by the prevailing heavy going, Desert Orchid was still sent off 5/2 favourite for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Adopting his usual bold, front-running style, he made most of the running until the second-last fence, but came under pressure and looked beaten when tackled by confirmed mudlark Yahoo on the run to the final fence. However, Desert Orchid rallied gamely, forged ahead on the run-in to win by 1½ lengths.

What is a tongue tie?

In horse racing, a tongue tie is a band, or strap, which can be made of elastic, leather or nylon stocking, that is wrapped around a horse’s tongue, close to its base, and tied around its lower jaw. The purpose of a tongue tie is to prevent a horse from getting its tongue over the bit and to prevent soft tissue at the back of the mouth, known as the ‘soft palate’, obstructing the airway during high intensity exercise, including racing.

If applied correctly, a tongue tie does not appear to cause a horse discomfort, distress or pain and may, indeed, prove beneficial, in terms of allowing it to breathe freely, without making a ‘gurgling’ noise, during exercise. Obviously, a horse that is not struggling to breathe can travel further, and faster, than one that is, so the main aim of fitting a racehorse with a tongue tie is to improve its performanceon the racecourse.

Nowadays, like other forms of headgear, such as blinkers and cheekpieces, which limit the field of vision, and hoods, which muffle sound, tongue ties must be publicly declared by racehorse trainers. On a standard racecard, a tongue tie is denoted by a small letter ‘t’ immediately to the right of the name of the relevant horse.

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