Introduction
Sports is one of the favourite pastimes enjoyed by millions of people all around the world. Horse racing is one of the many sports fans get to enjoy and which has been around for decades.
As with every other sport, there are prestigious horse races held. This article lists the five biggest horse races in the world.
Cheltenham Festival
With a long history trailing back to a hundred years, the Cheltenham festival attracts spectators, tourists, and bettors to the picturesque town of Cheltenham in England. Hundreds of bookmakers and sports bettors eagerly await the commencement of the festival every year for the event which lasts for four days. The festival is one of the most popular and a favourite among sports bettors. Bettors have the chance to bet at online horse racing betting sites and physical betting sites situated right by the race track.
Held every March, the four-day event co-occurs with Saint Patrick’s day, which is a reason for its popularity, especially among gamblers. Cheltenham witnesses millions of pounds in form of gambled money over the course of the festival week.
The festival atmosphere is always charged with excitement as fans do the ‘Cheltenham roar’ to mark the commencement of the race as the starter raises the tape.
The Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is undoubtedly the fanciest and most popular horse racing event in the world in 2015, bettors in America wagered approximately $133 million on the event alone. Held in Louisville, Kentucky, at the Churchill Downs race track, thousands of spectators gather to witness the “Greatest two minutes in Sports.” The racing event earned itself this moniker since the entire race is for one to one-fourth quarter mile and lasts for about two incredible but intense minutes where three-year-old Thoroughbreds race in front of over one hundred and fifty fans. The racing event has a long-standing tradition of decorating the horse able to race to the finish line and win the event in an ornate and lavish garland made with hundreds of red roses, which is where the moniker “run for the roses ‘ is derived.
Established back in 1875, the Kentucky Derby is one of the oldest sports still played and enjoyed by thousands of people. The annual racing event is held every first Saturday in May, comes with a prize purse of $3 million, and is the first leg of the American Triple Crown.
The Breeders’ Cup
The Breeders’ Cup has no stable location as the venue changes every year. The Cup is an annual series which involves only grade one, three years and above Thoroughbred horses managed by the Breeders’ Cup Limited. With a prize purse and awards worth $31 million, the Breeders’ Cup is one of the richest events, and every horse and owner flocks to the track for a chance to win the big prize. (Reference: Breaderscup.com)
Held every first Saturday in the month of November, the event lasts for two days and is usually scheduled for the end of the year as a culmination of the year’s racing Grand Slam.
Despite daring back to 1984 when the first race occurred, the Cup continued to remain one of the most prestigious racing events with the highest attendance in North America.
Dubai World Cup
Held in the luxurious Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Emirates, the Dubai World Cup held its inaugural race in 1996 and has since made a name for itself. The Cup is a Group one dirt race held primarily for three-year-old Southern Hemisphere Thoroughbreds and four-year-old Northern Hemisphere Thoroughbreds. With a distance of 2,000 meters, the Cup is held every last Saturday in March. The recently concluded Dubai World Cup gave out a whopping $30.5 million prize, placing the race as one of the most expensive in the world.
Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
The biggest horse racing event in France, the Arc’s history is a long and rich one. Held on the first Sunday in the month of October, the event happens at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France.
To win the prize purse of $5.6 million, horses that are three years and above have to run across a 1.5-mile turf. Since its inauguration in 1920, the Arc has recorded several successes, especially files and mares who have carried home the grand prize several times.
