are racehorses male or female?

Question

in horseracing, are the horses stallions or mares? or both? i mean, i would presume that male horses are stronger and faster. but i think i have heard of female racehorses? does a race ever consist of both sexes or do they have to be separated (like the way male athletes and female athletes have separate 100m races in athletics)

Answer 1

Race horses can be either sex. Males are called colts and females are called fillies until the age of 5 at which point you'd call them stallions and mares (unless it is a neutered male which is referred to as a gelding).

Generally, in the US, the sexes are raced separately. There are races for male horses and races for female horses. However, the female horses ARE allowed to race with the males if their owner chooses. The females are usually allowed to carry 5 less pounds than the males in this case.

By the age of three the colts do have a bit of an edge over most fillies. The males are a little more muscled and bigger. Most owners of fillies won't choose to race their fillies against the colts because there is plenty of money and opportunities to race in the female races and it is basically easier for a filly to win against her own sex. There are fillies that run against the boys, though. My Typhoon was in the Breeder's Cup Mile against male horses last week. And of course, the filly Rags to Riches won the Belmont Stakes this past June over the boys! Supposedly in Europe it is more common for horses to run in "mixed company."

Answer 2

Both male and female horses race, and yes they can race against each other. An entire male (still with both testicles) horse under the age of 5 is a colt and a female horse under the age of 5 is a filly. Once they reach 5 years of age they become a horse and a mare. A male horse only becomes a stallion when he starts covering mares, so it is incorrect to say that a thoroughbred stallion races. A castrated male is a gelding whatever his age.

You are right in saying that male horses are stronger than female horses - that is why we have the fillies weight allowance: in any race where male and female horses compete against each other on level weights (ie a non-handicap) the fillies carry 4lb less than the colts.

Quite often owners of fillies will only race them against their own sex, but there is no rule that says they cannot run against the colts if they want to: plenty of races are open to both sexes.

Answer 3

In racing horses are classified in the condtion book as such.
Females: Fillies and Mares
Filly being 2 -5 yrs old, or unbred.Mares 5 years old and up.
Males: Colts, Horses and Geldings.
Colt: being a young male 2-5
Horse: being 5 years old and up
Gelding: a castrated male

The term "Maiden" refers to any animal who has not yet won a race.
An 'Open' race is a race open to both sexes...both winners and non winners
Both males and females can race together.
Females are usually given a weight allowance.
It all depends on the 'conditions of a race.
There are Maiden Races
There are Claiming Races
There are Allowance Races
There are Maiden Allowance and Maiden Claiming
There are Stakes Races, Grade I II III
A race that was conditioned as such..."Maiden Claiming for 10,000.00, 6 furlongs, Turf. Means that Any non winner is elligible to run, the distance is 6 furlongs ond it's on the grass...Claiming means the horse can be "Claimed" by another person for the price of $10,000.00, and the sale is completed at the end of the race.
There is a whole lot more that goes into this that I am not touching on, because quite frankly it is usually too confusing to a lay person.
Hope this helped!

Answer 4

It depends which type of horse racing you are discussing.

In thoroughbred racing, most of the best known races (at least here in the U.S.) are for three year-olds only. These races are technically open to both colts and fillies, but most of the entrants (and almost all of the winners) are colts. There are equivalent events for fillies. The other major events are open to colts, fillies, stallions, and mares, but they tend to be mostly colts and stallions with some geldings. Geldings tend to have longer careers as the stallions and mares are typically retired after a few major successes as breeding is more profitable than racing for championship-caliber horses.

Answer 5

I've just started watching horse race this year. I thought male horses are stronger and faster just like you. But I was somehow wrong. Very wrong indeed. In Singapore, most of the horses are the female. And they can be a lot quicker than the male horses given the right jockey.

Answer 6

In the UK the allowance which females get from males in races where they would otherwise be racing against each other on level terms varies from 3lb to 7 lb. In the 2000 guineas a filly would receive 3lb, in the Derby 5lb, and in the Charlie Hall Chase over 3 m1f this weekend Heltornic is set to receive a 7lb mares' allowance. 2 year olds usually get 5lb from males in their age group.

Answer 7

As far as I am aware, both stallions and mares are raced. I would imagine that stallions race more often, or for longer, so that the mare can produce an offspring.

Answer 8

Usually neither, most race horses are geldings (Castrated male horses) Most horse owners are a bit reluctant to race a thoroughbred mare or stallion incase of accidents.

Answer 9

Both

Answer 10

You will find that they are both, well at least they are in Australia. As for separating I am not sure on that one.