Modern Riding Style Improves Horse Racing Times

摘要

Horse racing has existed in its current form for over 200 years. The apparently uncomfortable modern race riding posture was developed in the United States in the late 19th century, introduced to the United Kingdom in 1897, and universally adopted by 1910. This change in riding style (Fig. 1, A and B) corresponds to a dramatic improvement of 5 to 7% in race times in the rnUnited States between 1890 and 1900 and in the United Kingdom between 1897 and 1910 (fig. S1), strongly suggesting that the adopted posture benefits racing performance. This improvement is greater than that observed over the following century.