Since many of the early settlers and all of the early Tb’s came from Europe, it seems odd that horses in the US race the “wrong way”.
They race counter clockwise in Europe.
Indeed, two of the legs of the original Triple Crown, the Derby and the St Leger, are run counter clockwise, and the third, the 2000 Guineas, is run in straight line.
There are more counter clockwise courses in England than there are clockwise ones.
A better question might be why do horses in the US only run in one direction?
[QUOTE=Lord Helpus;8138415]
Since many of the early settlers and all of the early Tb’s came from Europe, it seems odd that horses in the US race the “wrong way”.[/QUOTE]
Of course from the American point of view, we’re doing right and the Euros are all wrong. Inevitably, IMO, the old world will catch up with our more progressive thinking. :yes:
I like to see the racetracks run races in both directions. “Odd-Even” days. Seems to me it would be better for the horses. Better conditioning “balance”. A lot of trainers if given the ability will gallop in the opposite direction a couple of times a week. The horses I train at our farm do this. Not sure if there is any “science”, studies done on the benefit but seems intuitive. IMO and experience the horses don’t react any differently.
Might take some getting used to by the fans.
[QUOTE=gumtree;8140091]
I like to see the racetracks run races in both directions. “Odd-Even” days. Seems to me it would be better for the horses. Better conditioning “balance”. A lot of trainers if given the ability will gallop in the opposite direction a couple of times a week. The horses I train at our farm do this. Not sure if there is any “science”, studies done on the benefit but seems intuitive. IMO and experience the horses don’t react any differently.
Might take some getting used to by the fans.[/QUOTE]
I very much agree. And while bettors and handicappers might complain about the added factor at first, I think it’s something that would eventually become a non-issue if everywhere was doing it.
[QUOTE=Shammy Davis;8140055]
Of course from the American point of view, we’re doing right and the Euros are all wrong. Inevitably, IMO, the old world will catch up with our more progressive thinking. :yes:[/QUOTE]
They race counter clockwise in Europe, there may actually be more counter coockwise tracks that than clockwise. That is the case in the UK where close to 40 of the 60 odd racecourses are lefthanded (counter clockwise). You can see the track configurations here… http://www.racinguk.com/racecourses/category/uk
There are some tracks that race in both directions. Windsor in England is a figure of eight, so horses will make leftanded and righthanded turns in the same races. Maison Laffite in France races both left and right handed. Leopardstown in Ireland used to have a righthanded chute for sprint races that fed into the stretch in the opposite direction from the main lefthanded course (the chute was lost a few years ago to a highway expansion).
The decision to run horses counterclockwise in the US dates to the American Revolution era. In 1780, the first circular US race track was established by William Whitley near his home in Lincoln County, Kentucky. A staunch supporter of the Revolution, Whitley insisted that horses race counterclockwise, as opposed to clockwise as was the custom at the time in England.
It all goes back to England.
According to Tom Gilcoyne at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga, N.Y., horse racing in this country during colonial times was run clockwise, or “right-handed” (all right-hand turns). But during the American revolution, that English custom was deliberately replaced by left-handed track races like the ones we see in America today.
In England 30–40% of races are now run the same way ours are. In central Europe, however, most are run right-handed.
Incidentally, Man o’ War’s victory at the 1920 Belmont Stakes was run right-handed. The Belmont was run that way from its first season at Belmont Park in 1905 until 1921.
Read more: Counter-Clockwise Racing http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/counter-clockwise-racing.html#ixzz3ZVkcs663
source: http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/counter-clockwise-racing.html
Epsom Derby looks left-handed to me, after that first right-hand turn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4lpPXxUMHE
Grand National is counterclockwise (“anticlockwise” in England).
If you Google it you will see that no one really knows for sure. Some say it goes back to the chariot races of ancient Rome; others that it originated in the Ancient Olympic Games; some say it is because most people are right-handed and would pass a baton in a relay with their strong right hand; others say it has to do with the Earth’s rotation on its axis, which they say makes it slightly faster to run counterclockwise.
Take your pick!
RPM, while it is a nice anecdote, the InfoPlease results about the first circular racetrack in America being in Kentucky and William Whitley determining the racing direction is incorrect.
As your other link suggests, they were formally racing on ovals in colonial New York a century before Kentucky was even a glimmer in anyone’s eye!
There were also no organized racetracks in Kentucky until 1809 (which, by the way, was 5 years after Tennessee 
) and the horses used to race down the main streets of both Louisville and Lexington.
In England, I would guess that the courses, the old ones at least, were designed around the topography. Many have several “courses” with an assortment of turns, hills, etc.
The biggest difference between early American and Euro racing was the choice to race on dirt rather than grass. My guess (and it is just that) is that once it was determined that a track was to be built, the ground would be leveled before grass/foliage was removed. Unlike the seemingly haphazard configuration of European tracks, the elongated oval took root from the start. From there, it seems just a small step to the uniformity of the left handed turn, though I cant say exactly why left was chosen over right.
The decision to run horses counterclockwise in the US dates to the American Revolution era. In 1780, the first circular US race track was established by William Whitley near his home in Lincoln County, Kentucky. A staunch supporter of the Revolution, Whitley insisted that horses race counterclockwise, as opposed to clockwise as was the custom at the time in England.
I Really wish people would stop repeating this old canard. They have been racing counterclockwise in England for centuries. As pointed out above some of the oldest and most famous races are lefthanded, as are some of the oldest racecourses. Indeed, the oldest racecourse in continous use in England, the ‘Roddee’ at Chester , which has held racing since the early 1500s, is probably the closest thing you will find to an American racetrack in that it is a one mile LEFTHANDED oval that is flat as a pancake.
[QUOTE=Drvmb1ggl3;8138582]
A better question might be why do horses in the US only run in one direction?[/QUOTE]
And at such short distances?
Because their left legs are shorter over here.
ducks
I would guess part of it, especially long straighways, are in part what Linny said–in the UK they started racing over heaths and other big open spaces and the course (not just odd-shaped or ‘wrong way’ round but up and down hills) was determined by the lay of the land. We DO have straightaway races here (quarter horses!) but most tracks aren’t build in places where you could have multiple ovals/courses and a mile+ straightaway. There have been cases of building ‘unusual’ courses–it may run anticlockwise but the downhill turf at Santa Anita is definitely not a flat oval (the weirdest part of most horses is probably the crossover where they have to briefly gallop over the dirt course-lots of attempts to jump the ‘obstacle’ crop up there!) But I don’t know how much that was incorporating the original lay of the land when they built the track-putting something like that in at Churchill or Belmont would involve earthworks that would be hard to manage when the track’s in a major city. (That’s another issue, it’s easier to have big, winding, or long courses when you’re in the country but not THAT far from major urban centers. Here it’s a long drive from most of the major tracks to actual open countryside.)
The majority of American steeplechase races are on natural-landscape courses just as in Europe. But, of course, even these are run counterclockwise.
