ON THE TRACK

GOING DOWN TO THE START

After you have made your selection, always watch your horse going down to the start. A horse can be calm and collected in the paddock but lose it when it reaches the course. It could take off with the jockey and hurtle down to the start. That often means race over.

FUEL CONSUMPTION

35,000 calories a day (mainly hay and oats). A human adult is advised to eat around 2,500.

STRIDE

An average racehorse’s stride is 20ft-21ft, taking between 130 to 140 strides per minute.

JOCKEY

It is important to see how a horse reacts when the jockey jumps on its back. Does it remain relaxed or start playing about? Again, vital energy needed for the race can be wasted. Some horses can burst out in sweat when mounted and that is a negative.

SPEED

A racehorse can hit speeds of up to 44mph. Usain Bolt reached 28mph when setting the 100m world record.

HEART RATE

Up to 240 beats per minute. A racehorse’s heart weighs 9lbs, the same as four bags of sugar. A human’s weighs the equivalent of a cup of sugar.

BREATHING

Lungs breathe in and out 140 times a minute distributing 150 litres of air per second. At 10,000 litres per race, that is what a human breathes in a day.