iPedia Free Information Center

Information about Race Track

An editor has expressed concern that this article or section is .
Please help improve the article by adding information and sources on neglected viewpoints, or by summarizing and use of summary style if it is too long already.
Please see the discussion on the .


Enlarge picture
The hippodrome at Chester.
A race track (or 'racetrack' or 'racing track') is a purpose-built facility for racing. This racing can be of animals (eg. horse racing or greyhound racing), automobiles, motorcycles or athletes. A race track may also feature grandstands or concourses. The term racecourse is also used for horse-racing facilities. Race tracks built for bicycles are known as velodromes.

Horse and dog racing facilities tend to use circular or oval tracks, whereas most automotive and motorcycle racing is performed on meandering courses, which are sometimes called 'road circuits' (this originates in the fact that the earliest road racing circuits were simply closed-off public roads). A notable exception is most forms of automotive racing in the USA (such as NASCAR) that primarily use oval tracks (known as "speedways").

History

Enlarge picture
The race has started


There is some evidence of racetracks being developed in several ancient civilizations, but the most impressive ancient racetracks were certainly the hippodrome of the Ancient Greeks and the circus of the Roman Empire. Both of these structures were designed for horse and chariot racing. The stadium of the Circus Maximus in Rome, Italy, is an example that could hold 200,000 spectators.

Racing facilities existed during the Middle Ages and there are records of a public racecourse being opened at Newmarket in London in 1174. In 1780 the Earl of Derby created a horse-racing course on his estate at Epsom; the English Derby continues to be held there today.

Horse racing in the United States and on the North American continent dates back to the establishment of another course named Newmarket -- on the Salisbury Plains section of what is now known as the Hempstead Plains of Long Island, New York in 1665. This first racing meet in North America was supervised by New York's colonial Governor, Richard Nicolls. The area is now occupied by the present Nassau County, New York region of Greater Westbury and East Garden City. The South Westbury section is also (appropriately) known as Salisbury.

Major horse racetracks in the US were built at Saratoga Springs, New York in 1863 and at Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky., opened in 1875. 1905 saw the opening of Belmont Park in Elmont, New York (just outside New York City - on part of the western edge of the Hempstead Plains. Its mile and a half main track is the largest dirt thoroughbred race course in the world, and it has the sport's largest grandstand.

Vehicle racetracks

Enlarge picture
Six jockeys and their horses taking a curve.


Enlarge picture
The ACI Vallelunga car racing track near Rome, Italy. The circuit length is 2.538 miles (4.085 km).


With the advent of the automobile in the early 20th century, a new style of racetrack came into existence, one designed to suit the nature of powered machines. The earliest tracks were modified horse racing courses, and racing automobiles in these facilities began in September, 1896, at Narragansett Park in Cranston, RI. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was opened in August of 1909.

During the 1920s, many of the races on the AAA Championship occurred on high banked wooden race tracks called board tracks.

See also

Enlarge picture
Horseracing track, Happy Valley Racecourse of The Hong Kong Jockey Club.

External links

Enlarge picture
Autódromo José Carlos Pace Auto track.
Horse racing is an equestrian sport which has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times are an early example, as is the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. It is often inextricably associated with gambling.
..... Click the link for more information.
Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure (an artificial hare or rabbit) on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner.
..... Click the link for more information.
automobile (from Greek auto, self and Latin mobile moving, a vehicle that moves itself rather than being moved by another vehicle or animal) or motor car (usually shortened to just car) is a wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own motor.
..... Click the link for more information.
MotorCycle
(1993) BibleLand
(1994)

MotorCycle is the title of a 1993 album by rock band Daniel Amos, released on BAI Records. The album was dedicated to the memory of songwriter Mark Heard.
..... Click the link for more information.
A sportsperson (British and American English) or athlete (principally American English) is any person who participates regularly in a sport.

Athletes can be professional (paid) or amateur (unpaid).
..... Click the link for more information.
A velodrome is a sporting arena purpose-built for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement curve.
..... Click the link for more information.
Road racing can be a term involving road running, road bicycle races, or automobile races. As contemplated in this article, the term will be treated as it relates to motorsport, specifically, automobile racing and motorcycle racing.
..... Click the link for more information.
Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
..... Click the link for more information.
Sport governing body

Category Stock cars
Area of jurisdiction Canada,United States,Mexico
Formation date 1948
Headquarters Daytona Beach, Florida
Charlotte, North Carolina
New York City, New York

..... Click the link for more information.
oval track is a dedicated motorsport circuit, primarily in the USA, which differs from a road course in that it only has turns in one direction, which is almost universally left. Oval tracks often have banked turns as well.
..... Click the link for more information.
A Hippodrome (Gr. from hippos, horse, and dromos, race, course) was a course provided by the Greeks for horse racing and chariot racing. Some present-day horse racing tracks are also called hippodromes, for example the Central Moscow Hippodrome.
..... Click the link for more information.
The term ancient Greece refers to the periods of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting ca. 750 BC[1] (the archaic period) to 146 BC (the Roman conquest). It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of Western Civilization.
..... Click the link for more information.
The Roman Empire is the name given to both the imperial domain developed by the city-state of Rome and also the corresponding phase of that civilization, characterized by an autocratic form of government. This article however is about the latter.
..... Click the link for more information.
chariot was a two-wheeled conveyance usually drawn by two horses. In ancient Rome and other ancient Mediterranean countries a biga was a two-horse chariot, a triga utilized three horses and a quadriga was drawn by four horses abreast.
..... Click the link for more information.
Circus Maximus (Latin for greatest circus, in Italian Circo Massimo) is an ancient hippodrome and mass entertainment venue located in Rome.

Situated in the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, the location was first utilized for public games and
..... Click the link for more information.
Comune di Roma

Flag
Seal
Nickname: "The Eternal City"
Motto: "Senatus Populusque Romanus" (SPQR)   (Latin)
..... Click the link for more information.
Anthem
Il Canto degli Italiani
(also known as Fratelli d'Italia)


..... Click the link for more information.
Middle Ages form the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three "ages": the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Modern Times.
..... Click the link for more information.
11st century - 12nd century - 13rd century
1140s  1150s  1160s  - 1170s -  1180s  1190s  1200s
1171 1172 1173 - 1174 - 1175 1176 1177

Politics
State leaders - Sovereign states
Birth and death categories
..... Click the link for more information.
17th century - 18th century - 19th century
1750s  1760s  1770s  - 1780s -  1790s  1800s  1810s
1777 1778 1779 - 1780 - 1781 1782 1783

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
..... Click the link for more information.
Earl of Derby is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by the Ferrers (also spelled Ferrer) family under a creation of 1139, until forfeited and held by the family of Henry III under a creation of 1337.
..... Click the link for more information.
Location Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom, Surrey, England
Inaugurated: May 4 1780
Race type Thoroughbred - Flat racing
Website: 2007 Derby Festival
Race information
Distance 1 mile 4 furlongs 10 yards
Track Turf, left-handed

..... Click the link for more information.
Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
..... Click the link for more information.
Long Island is an island in southeast New York, USA. It has an area of 3,567 square miles (10,377 km²) and a population of 7,448,618 as of the 2000 census, with the population estimated at 7,559,372 as of July 1, 2006, making it the largest island in the 48 contiguous U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.
State of New York

Flag of New York Seal
Nickname(s): The Empire State
Motto(s): Excelsior!

Official language(s) None

Capital Albany
Largest city New York City

..... Click the link for more information.
Nassau County is a suburban county in the New York Metropolitan Area east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2000 census, the population was 1,334,544.
..... Click the link for more information.
Westbury, New York

Seal
Motto:
Coordinates:
Country United States
State New York
County Nassau
Area
 - Village  2.4 sq mi (6.
..... Click the link for more information.
18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1830s  1840s  1850s  - 1860s -  1870s  1880s  1890s
1860 1861 1862 - 1863 - 1864 1865 1866

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
..... Click the link for more information.
18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1840s  1850s  1860s  - 1870s -  1880s  1890s  1900s
1872 1873 1874 - 1875 - 1876 1877 1878

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
..... Click the link for more information.
19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1870s  1880s  1890s  - 1900s -  1910s  1920s  1930s
1902 1903 1904 - 1905 - 1906 1907 1908

Year 1905 (MCMV
..... Click the link for more information.


This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus


page counter