The latest developments in the horse racing world

Horse Racing is one of the most popular sports on the planet, watched by millions, and bet on by even more people. It offers so much excitement as it is one of the most unpredictable sports in the world. Literally anything can happen out on the race track, from a horse deciding not to run at all to throwing its jockey off, and even a horse with unlikely oddsof 100/1 beating the rest of the field to be the first to pass the finishing post.

One of the best things about horse racing though is it goes on all year long. It’s not like other sports that have set seasons like basketball, football or rugby. Well, they do have set seasons for horse racing in some countries but mainly due to weather, however, during the downtime of one country, there are always other races going on in the world, and the coverage of horse racing spans across the entire world.

You could be sitting in a local bookmaker in the UK for example, watching races taking place in Australia, France and even the US. And because it runs all the way through the year, there are always developments happening and news being reported on. So what are the latest developments around in the horse racing world at the moment?

More US States legalise online sports betting

The US is a strange place to many. They allow citizens to purchase firearms despite a rise in the number of shootings across the country, they allow children to drive cars at a much younger age than many other developing countries, and they have one of the highest age restrictions for gambling in the world.

But whilst they refuse to do anything to restrict the sale of firearms or outright ban them, remember amendments are called amendments for a reason, because they can be amended, they are changing laws around gambling. It is taking its time though, as every state has its own laws on the subject. But places such as Maryland and Virginia are both opening up the world of gambling in their states by signing Bill HB 940 (Maryland) and HB896/SB384 (Virginia) into law.

This opens up a massive market to casinos and sportsbooks across the country with so many more people soon to have access to being able to bet more freely on sports such as horse racing. Something that could really benefit the sport by encouraging gambling firms to invest in those areas. Many places are already starting to claim they offer the best casino bonuses to get new customers in. This could lead to bigger payouts in horse racing, and much needed improvements to race tracks that have been left to rot.

Breeders’ Cup to have full capacity for world championships

The COVID-19 pandemic hit horse racing massively, much like other sports around the world. One of the main issues that it inflicted was reduced capacity crowds, even zero capacity in some places. That is slowly changing though as vaccinations roll out across the globe, and infection rates fall.

And whilst places like the UK are slowing down their progress on easing up their lockdowns, affecting events like the 2021 Moët & Chandon July Festival which takes place at Newmarket Racecourse, the US is not. Which means capacity crowds are being reintroduced, and it has been announced that the Breeders’ Cup this year will once again be at full capacity.

There will be some changes though, because unlike usual operations in the past, tickets won’t be going on general admission on the day, and anyone wanting to attend will need to purchase their tickets in advance. But as the event doesn’t run until November, there is plenty of time to get booking your tickets now for an exciting weekend at Del Mar.

Melbourne Cup to change things up for 2021

The Melbourne Cup, known locally as the race that stops the nation, will continue to run this year. Which will be welcome news to horse racing fans, as it is the biggest race in the southern hemisphere, besides the new series of Ru Paul’s Drag Race Down Under.

However, due to COVID-19 and the impact it has had, there will be changes to this year’s event. These include having fewer international horses being invited, however, races will still all be run at capacity, just with more homegrown horses taking part.

But that isn’t the only change happening, after a report by Racing Victoria that was instigated after Anthony Van Dyck’s fatal injury last year has been looking into the deaths of overseas horses. The report made 44 recommendations to event organisers, and in fairness, they are implementing all but three of them, which could always be looked at being introduced further down the line.

Category: Racing