Is Horse Racing An Olympic Sport?
The Tokyo Olympics recently finished and there were a few new sports added to the agenda but I was wondering why horse racing is not part of the games, has it ever been?
Will it be in the future?
Or is it already an olympic sport and I’m just blissfully unaware!?
Well, I wanted to find out and did some research into the question – is horse racing an olympic sport?
The answer to this question is no, it is not an olympic sport. There are equestrian sports in the olympics, including eventing, dressage and show jumping. However, horse racing itself is not one of them, although there are many calls for it to become one.
In this article, we look at why horse racing is not an olympic sport, and look in more detail at equestrian sports that have made the cut so far.
We also explore the history of horse sports in the games.
We cover all of that and much much more so read on!
Why was horse racing not in the Tokyo Olympics 2021?
Horse racing was not featured in the Tokyo Olympics this year because it is not an Olympic sport.
However, many are calling for it to be part of future Olympic games, including the next games in Paris in 2024.
Equestrian sports have a long history in the Olympics, dating back to the 1900s.
However, horse racing is not included despite its increasing internationalization in recent decades with events like the Kentucky Derby, Victorian spring carnival, Dubai World Cup, Hong Kong International Races, and Royal Ascot in the UK.
What are the main reasons for horse racing not being an Olympic sport?
The major reason horse racing is not an Olympic sport is because it is a betting-first sport.
Betting on sports is common, but betting in horse racing is a very very big market.
There are even conversations about whether horse racing is a legitimate sport or just a means for gambling.
Another issue with horse racing in the Olympics is – who would get the medal. The athlete? The rider?
In the current equestrian sports in the Olympics, the medal goes to the athlete.
The other reason why horse racing is not an Olympic sport is because of the treatment of racehorses and ethical issues surrounding it.
It is common knowledge that many believe horse racing to be cruel and the injuries horses sustain from it is frowned upon by many animal rights activists, questioning animal welfare in the industry.
As a result, the International Olympic Committee would not like to be seen to be condoning such activities.
The governing body for equestrian sports at the Olympics is the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) – and it too would be against any cruelty to animals that horse racing sometimes poses.
These are just some of the reasons why it is not yet an olympic sport.
What equestrian sports are in the Olympics?
There are three equestrian events competed in at the Olympics – dressage, eventing and show jumping.
For dressage competitions, it highlights the most advanced and refined riding skills.
It is often called ‘the ballet of horseback riding’ for that reason.
It is intended to demonstrate harmony and trust between horse and rider, which is achieved using correct, gentle training.
There are, however, some training methods that are not allowed by the FEI, the international governing body of horse sport, on the grounds that they compromise horse welfare.
With eventing, teams compete in three combinations across three days, with athletes participating in an endurance test, including roads and tracks, steeplechase and cross-country, as a result it combines not only jumping and dressage, but also a long cross-country course,
Their scores from all three phases are combined to determine the overall placings.
In show jumping, the day after the cross-country, each horse and rider take on a short course of colored fences which can be knocked down.
At most competitions, there is only one round of show jumping, but at the Olympics, the team medals are determined after the first round and then the top riders go on to an extra round which will then decide the individual medals.
The team jumping round at the Tokyo Olympics in Japan involved up to 16 jumping efforts.
So dressage and show jumping are separate competitions at the Olympics but event riders have to combine the two disciplines with cross-country.
So many say eventing is the toughest Olympic sport as the challenge is in training a horse to be successful in all three phases and keeping it healthy for the show jumping after the challenges of the cross-country.
When did equestrian sports get introduced to the Olympics?
Equestrianism was first introduced as a Summer Olympic sport at the 1900 games in Paris in France but was subsequently removed from the list of sports for the following two competitions.
It returned in 1912 and has appeared in every Olympic game since.
It was not until the 1952 Summer Olympics that women and non-officers were allowed to compete in equestrian events, although women were only allowed to compete in dressage, with just men and commissioned military officers allowed to take part before then.
In 1956, women could compete in Jumping and in 1964, they could take part in Eventing.
Ever since then, men and women have been able to compete against one another in equestrian events – making it one of the few Olympic sports where this is possible.
Would horse racing succeed as an olympic sport?
Horse racing is hugely popular around the world with numerous events in the US too and many say for that reason it would have a huge following and attract a big audience if it did become an olympic sport.
However, it would need to be approved first by the horse federation and the olympic committee to become one.
To conclude, we have discovered that horse racing is not an Olympic sport but there are certainly equestrian sports in the Olympic games that date back to a very long time ago and prove to be very popular spectator sports.
However, many would like horse racing to become part of the games too but because of its betting link and the huge concerns around animal welfare, for now, it has not been added to the list.