Quarter Horses

Information

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Overview

Quarter Horse racing began from humble beginnings on a straight track of four hundred forty yards, or one quarter of a mile.  While this is the classic distance for this breed races are are contested over distances from 100 yards to 1000 yards.  The AQHA is the official breed registry of quarter horses and only recognizes races run at 870 yards or less.  

Generally speaking, Quarter Horse races are run in a straight path with all of the entrants running at top speed for the duration of the race.  These races are sometimes run out of a chute and on a track configuration similiar to Thoroughbreds.  The break from the starting gate is an essential part of the race as these Quarter horses must accelerate very quickly leaving the gate and maintain that speed through the finish line. 

Quarter Horse racing has a Triple Crown of their own and a Championship event.  2 year old racing is the premiere age group of this breed and their triple crown consists of futurities, or races that are restricted to 2 year olds only.  These races are the Ruidoso Futurity in June, the Rainbow Futurity in July and the All American Futurity in early September.  The biggest event of the year is the All American Futurity which takes place at Ruidoso Downs located in the mountains of New Mexico every Labor Day.  There are been only one horse to win the Quarter Horse Triple Crown and that was Special Effort in 1981.

A Quarter Horse's performance is measured by a Speed Index(SI).  This number is derived by averaging the three fastest times at one track over a 3 year period and that represents a figure of 100.  A horses performance is adjust based upon time for example if 21 seconds represents a Speed Index of 100 then a horse that runs a race in 21.25 would earn an index lower than 100.  Conversely if a horse were to run a race faster than 21 seconds then they would earn an SI over 100. 

This breed competes at tracks across the United States, Canada, Mexico and South America.

Races that are competed around a turn are labeled "around the hook"  whereas the hook is considered the turn. 

Tracks

We offer wagering available on the following Quarter Horse tracks, please click the links to get more information. To place wagers use one of the betting services.