Steeplechasing!
The thoroughbred question [below in the article] cracked me up 
If a fan knows enough about types of horses to distinguish a TB from other breeds, what do they think 'chasers are riding? Mustangs? 
Leap forward for jumpers
Steeplechase horses in spotlight as Hirapour takes A.P. Smithwick
By MARK SINGELAIS, Staff writer - Albany Times Union
Friday, August 11, 2006
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Steeplechase jockey Rob Massey said fans sometimes ask him, “Why aren’t you riding thoroughbreds?”
His reply: “Well, they are all thoroughbreds.”
That’s the perception problem with steeplechase, which can look like a second-class citizen compared with flat (non-steeplechase) races.
But the jumpers got their moment in the sun Thursday at Saratoga Race Course, where they were the co-feature in the $75,000-added, Grade II A.P. Smithwick Memorial in front of 18,895 fans.
Hirapour, a 10-year-old gelding who’s one of the stars of the sport, won the 2 1/16 -mile race by four lengths over Good Night Shirt on the inner turf.
Like many steeplechasers, Hirapour is a converted flat thoroughbred.
“We’re trying to make this sport better and get the public to understand it,” said Hirapour trainer Paul Fout.
That’s not an easy task, especially when Saratoga cut down to six steeplechases this meet – one every Thursday – from nine last year.
Bill Nader, NYRA’s senior vice president and chief operating officer, pointed out that major tracks such as Churchill Downs, Del Mar, Santa Anita and Gulfstream don’t have any steeplechase races.
“We run six because it’s part of the history and tradition of Saratoga,” Nader said. “We’ve struck the right balance and we’ll continue to evaluate it.”
Many bettors shy away from the jumpers because they feel the races are too hard to pick because of the risk of a fall.
“Unfortunately here the public isn’t informed like they are in Europe, where steeplechasing is on an equal standard with the flat racing,” said jockey Matthew McCarron, who rode Hirapour. “The handicappers here who aren’t accepting the fact that there’s a chance of falling off, they get frustrated and have a sour taste in their mouth.”
Ironically, McCarron said, some fans are attracted to steeplechase exactly because of the danger involved.
McCarron, the nephew of Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron, broke his left arm in a spill on opening day last year.
“It’s just like downhill skiing or auto racing,” McCarron said. “There’s a certain percentage of the population that watches for that reason (an accident) alone. Unfortunately, it’s not the kind of publicity we want, but if that’s one reason somebody’s going to watch it, then we can use all the support we can get.”
There were no falls in Thursday’s co-feature.
McCarron and Massey became steeplechase jockeys because they grew too big to remain in flat racing. Jumpers are allowed to carry more weight than other thoroughbreds. Hirapour held 158 pounds in his victory Thursday.
Steeplechase does have an old-time feel, with no starting gate and a flag used to start the race. But Patrick Smithwick, the son of the late Hall of Fame trainer A.P. Smithwick, said the sport has changed since his father’s heyday.
“It’s doing very well financially and in attendance, however there are more races at hunt meets now all up and down the East Coast, but not as many as the racetrack,” he said. “They need to educate the audience a little bit about them.”
