Horse Racing The Sport of The Kings

Road Racing ... Road racing occasionally is conducted using the infield and oval portions of tracks making a "roval", such as the 24 Hours of Daytona... Hosting a road racing tradition since 1926 at Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia, the photograph at right shows motorcycle racing at a new track, called the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, which opened in 1989 with the World Motorcycle Championships...

Historic Motorsport ... Championships range from "grass root" Austin Seven racing to the FIA Thoroughbred Grand Prix Championship for classic Formula One chassis...

Arabian Horse ... The Arabian developed in a desert climate and was prized by the nomadic Bedouin people, often being brought inside the family tent for shelter and protection from theft. Selective breeding for traits including an ability to form a cooperative relationship with humans created a horse breed that is good-natured, quick to learn, and willing to please...

Supermoto ... Races are commonly held on road racing or medium sized go-kart tracks with an off-road section in the infield... This type of racing is also very portable in that an entire track can be constructed anywhere there is a large area of open asphalt and an availability of dirt... Riders also wear a combination of road race and offroad equipment, normally road racing leathers and motocross helmets and boots...

Stock Car Racing ... Today most American stock cars may superficially resemble standard American family sedans, but are in fact purpose-built racing machines built to a strict set of regulations governing the car design ensuring that the chassis, suspension, engine, etc... For example, NASCAR Sprint cup series (the highest racing series in the world) now requires fuel injection... In the UK and New Zealand there is a racing formula called stock cars but the cars are markedly different from any road car you might see...

Harness Racing In New Zealand ... The New South Wales bred, Lawn Derby, racing un-hoppled, was the first pacer to break the two-minute barrier in Australia or New Zealand when he recorded 1:59.4 at the Addington track in New Zealand in 1938...

Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing ... Grand Prix motorcycles are purpose-built racing machines that are neither available for purchase by the general public nor can be ridden legally on public roads... Overview A Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix was first organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) in 1949... Teams are represented by the International Road Racing Teams Association (IRTA) and manufacturers by the Motorcycle Sport Manufacturers Association (MSMA)...

AMA Supercross Championship ... In 1972, racing promoter Michael Goodwin staged what he called the "Super Bowl of Motocross" inside the Los Angeles Coliseum in Los Angeles, California... Modern Supercross races are sanctioned and governed by motorcycle associations, the main series being either the American Motorcyclist Association which is the oldest and most prestigious cycle racing organization (in America), or the Monster Energy series of Supercross Championship events that are in part the work of Clear Channel, who in 2004 contributed expertise in filming on-track gate event competition for Supercross... Supercross racing classifications were governed by the displacement of the motorcycle's engine until 2006...

Formula Racing ... Categories such as Formula Three and GP2 are described as feeder formulæ, which refers to their position below Formula One on the career ladder of single seater motor racing... There are two primary forms of racing formula: the open formula that allows a choice of chassis and/or engines; and the control or "spec" formula that relies on a single supplier for chassis and engines... The first racing formulæ Formula One In the process of reviving Grand Prix racing after the end of World War II, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's Commission Sportive Internationale was responsible for defining the standardised regulations of Formula One in 1946...

Motorcycle Drag Racing ... The most well-known form of motorcycle drag racing is the Pro Stock Bike category, although several other categories exist, including 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) nitromethane engine...

Hillclimbing ... It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the first known hillclimb at La Turbie near Nice, France took place as long ago as 31 January 1897. The hillclimb held at Shelsley Walsh, in Worcestershire, England is the world's oldest continuously staged motorsport event still staged on its original course, having been first run in 1905...

Racing ... Forms of racing Further information: List of forms of racing Running a distance is the most basic form of racing, but races may be conducted in vehicles, such as boats, cars and aircraft, or with animals such as horses or dogs... In a relay race members of a team take turns in racing parts of a circuit or performing a certain racing form...

Production Car Racing ... The first NASCAR "Strictly Stock" race ever was held at Charlotte Speedway, on June 19, 1949. Where a racing class requires that the cars raced be production vehicles only slightly adapted for racing, manufacturers typically produce a limited run of such vehicles for public sale so that they can legitimately race them in the class...

V8 Supercars ... They are strictly governed in most aspects of performance in an effort to keep all the drivers on an even footing to create closer, more exciting racing...

Auto Racing ... Sixty-nine cars started the 50 km (31 mi) selection event that would show which entrants would be allowed to start the main event, the 127 km (79 mi) race from Paris to Rouen. The entrants ranged from serious manufacturers like Peugeot, Panhard or De Dion to amateur owners, and only 25 were selected for the main race...

Drag Racing ... Basics of drag racing Before each race (also known as a pass), each driver is allowed to perform a burnout, which heats the driving tires and lays rubber down at the beginning of the track, improving traction...

Greyhound Racing ... In other countries (particularly Australia, Ireland, Macau, Mexico, Spain, the UK and the US), greyhound racing is part of the gambling business, similar to although far less profitable than horse racing... In Florida, where 16 tracks survive, the handle, or amount wagered, on racing has dropped from about $620 million to $300 million in 10 years... The first recorded attempt at racing greyhounds on a straight track was made beside the Welsh Harp reservoir, Hendon in 1876, but this experiment did not develop...

Greyhound Racing In Great Britain ... This was the first attempt of introducing mechanical racing to the UK, however it did not catch on at the time... Greyhound racing was brought to Britain from America by Charles Munn, an American businessman who obtained the overseas rights to the mechanical lure (hare)... His business partners were Alfred Critchley and Francis Gentle and together they formed the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) and raised £25,000 to build a racecourse at Belle Vue...

Parimutuel Betting ... The parimutuel system is used in gambling on horse racing, greyhound racing, jai alai, and all sporting events of relatively short duration in which participants finish in a ranked order. A modified parimutuel system is also used in some lottery games...

Thoroughbred ... The Thoroughbred as it is known today was developed in 17th and 18th-century England, when native mares were crossbred with imported Oriental stallions of Arabian, Barb, and Turkoman breeding. All modern Thoroughbreds can trace their pedigrees to three stallions originally imported into England in the 17th century and 18th century, and to a larger number of foundation mares of mostly English breeding...