Horse Racing Planet | Where the world is Flat

Europe

‘It could take a whole year to recover’ – Filip Minarik goes home but knows he will never ride again
Europe

Spanish tragedy: lorry fire claims the lives of seven racehorses travelling to Madrid
Europe

It’s an ‘October-fest’ for female jockeys as Mickaelle Michel lands first G2 win
North America

Breeders’ Cup: Mogul and Magical to headline Aidan O’Brien team at Keeneland
North America

Breeders’ Cup: ‘You train him, I’ll ride him!’ – Frankie Dettori tells Ralph Beckett he’s ready for New Mandate

Melbourne Cup: German stayer Ashrun enters via last-chance saloon

‘Win and You’re In’ victory in Hotham after two-week quarantine period for trainer Andreas Wohler.

Hollie Doyle to have first Breeders’ Cup ride on Mighty Gurkha

Hollie Doyle will cap a season of personal landmarks and record-breaking by having her first ride at the Breeders’ Cup.

Tarnawa my best chance of a Breeders’ Cup win, says international pioneer Dermot Weld

Dermot Weld described Tarnawa as his best chance of winning Breeders’ Cup race as he confirmed the filly would contest the Turf at Keeneland.

Ballydoyle’s globe-trotting star Magic Wand retired owing to hoof abscess

Popular international racemare Magic Wand has been retired owing to the setback that kept her out of last weekend’s Cox Plate.

Irish Derby winner Sovereign supplemented to £500,000 Bahrain International Trophy

Aidan O’Brien’s 2019 Irish Derby winner has been added to the field for the second running of Bahrain’s international race.

Almond Eye, Magical and Addeybb among stellar cast for Hong Kong International Races

The Hong Kong Jockey Club has announced 162 nominations including 61 G1 winners from 10 different countries for its December showpiece.

Load More Posts

Italy: Il Palio di Siena Famous equine throwback to a medieval age of jousting and pageantry as mixed-breed horses representing ‘contrade’ (neighbourhoods) partnered by bareback riders (‘fantini’) hurtle around a picture-postcard Tuscan city-centre piazza in front of thousands of frenzied spectators. Fists and whips are much in evidence. It happens twice a year, on July 2 and August 16; apart from 2020, owing to coronavirus.
Germany: Duhnen mudflats A mixed racecard (also featuring trotters) is held annually in July on what is effectively the seabed at Duhnen, a North Sea resort on the outskirts of the port city of Cuxhaven. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Elbe estuary, an international shipping lane, the racing surface is exposed by the ebbing tide. About 30,000 spectators attend, watching from the nearby dyke.
Germany: ‘Seejagdrennen’ (lake chases) Germany’s abbreviated jumps programme (less than 20 races) features four examples of ‘Seejagdrennen’, wherein horses have to negotiate a large body of water. Best-known are the two at Bad Harzburg in Lower Saxony in July, though the lake is deeper at Hamburg, requiring some equine doggy paddle during the Deutsches Derby meeting. Quakenbruck hosts the other one.
Japan: Ban’ei racing on Hokkaido Staged only at the suburban racetrack of Obihiro on ‘horse island’ Hokkaido, ban’ei (‘pull play’) involves sturdy draught horses twice the weight of thoroughbreds pulling heavy iron sleds along a straight 200-metre sand track featuring a pair of inclines. You can bet on it, there’s a starting gate and ‘jockeys’ wear conventional silks.
USA: Twin-horse chariot racing Ben Hur-style is the order of the day at the Golden Spike Event Center in Ogden, Utah, on the edge of the Rockies just north of Salt Lake City. Teams compete in a series of drag races over 440 yards lasting about 22 seconds; the ‘American Chariot Racing World Championships’ are held in March.