All About the Racing American Quarter Horse
August 26, 2008
Heartswideopen leads the field in the 2007 All American Futurity.
American Quarter Horses are the fastest horses in the world, and among the fastest of all animals. Able to run at speeds up to 55 mph, they can travel a quarter mile in less than 21 seconds, starting from a flat-footed standstill.
In American Quarter Horse racing, the clock begins as soon as the starter pushes the button and the starting gates open. In comparison, Thoroughbreds are given a running start. Although they break from the gate just like American Quarter Horses, their timer does not begin until they are several strides from the gate.
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What’s the Difference Between an American Quarter Horse and a Thoroughbred?
- An American Quarter Horse is traditionally a short, stocky horse that is a specialized sprinter. They are the dragsters of the horse racing world. Horses run all-out at distances between 220 and 870 yards. American Quarter Horse races are measured in yards. The classic distance is 440 yards, or a quarter mile, which is originally where the horse drew its name.
- A Thoroughbred is a tall, lanky horse that specializes in running long distances. They commonly run between six furlongs (three-quarters of a mile) and two miles. Thoroughbreds were originally bred in Europe.
- The most famous American Quarter Horse race is the $2 million All American Futurity (G1), run at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico. G1, aka Grade 1, designates that the race is a race for the best of the best.
- The most famous Thoroughbred race is the Kentucky Derby, held at Churchill Downs in Kentucky.
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20 Comments on “All About the Racing American Quarter Horse”
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September 3rd, 2008 at 11:39 am
i was once told that the quarter horse was a type of horse, and as near as i can tell that type has changed from the time i first started, 1966 to 2008,
I have researched many pedigrees and i have found ALL quarter horses are primarily Thoroughbred, if you research deep enough.
September 3rd, 2008 at 11:51 am
That is true but if you look back even further you will find that your Thoroughbred steams from mostly Arabian’s.
September 3rd, 2008 at 1:30 pm
If you do your research on the history of the AQHA organization you will discover that in the early day. there was a minor diss agreement on the body type. This was soved by accepting both types in the regstry the thouogbrede type and the bull dog type. one for raceing and one for working cattle
September 3rd, 2008 at 9:11 pm
in the modern quarter horse we stil need the influence of the thoroughbred, into the quarter horse like they do in the early breeding years for freching up the bloodlines ,dillut the hy percentage of line-inbreeding, not that,that it is bad, bud we mus give them back the speed and movment ,the normal gats and not the pony like pleasure trot
September 3rd, 2008 at 9:39 pm
I think I understand some of this thread… I am not a breeder by profession or even a back yard, patimer…. however I have raised 2 QH babies from the same mare and 2 diff studs; one baby ended up more TB like grew to be 17 hh and used as a jumper, his angles were TH like and so was his tempermet. The other I kept and she looks like a QH as we know it these days. A bit leggy, thick in the barrel/chest, big hips and short head. Of course the variance is a bit diff from her pleassure counterparts(shes cow bred). I DO like the diversity of the QH because of these mentioned above. Just a bit of tweeking among the lines opens up a whole new option for someone else looking for a great horse.
September 17th, 2008 at 8:46 am
I have a Appendix QH built like a TB. Her bloodlines are the Sea Line breeding – all TB. Actually she is 5/8 TB and only 3/8 AQHA. She was trained to race, but never actually on the track. Was she bred to race as a sprinter or the long tracks?
September 20th, 2008 at 11:57 am
The quarter horse is a thoroughbred horse, that was taken and specialized to run a particular race (The quarter mile). The took different horses and bred them for specific traits that would give them the best advantage in the race (ie: stockier shorter body, barrel chest, thick muscular back legs and rump). This way they can start off from a dead run and top speed, which is what they needed to win the quarter race, because they don’t have precious seconds that they can take to build up their speed like thoroughbreds have in much longer races. Which is also why quarter horses are now so greatly associated with western events (ie: cutting, working cow, barrel racing, reining, roping etc.). All the events mentioned, are ones that require a horse that can turn, spin, rapidly change their direction, all at staying at their top speed. Most the time, using a thoroughbred for such events would be almost impossible, simply because their just too tall, and lanky.
September 20th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I grew up around quarter horses and helped my dad raise and breed them. I currently own a stud that is a great reining horse, built small and low to the ground, but like any breeder you search for traits in both mare and stud that you want in the next generation. So when I breed a mare to my stud, I start looking for one that is a little larger in frame, and a little more stockier muscularly. The breed has become so big in number’s, you really don’t need to look outside of the breed to find traits to improve upon the breed, you simply look at different traits that are more prominant in particular horses and breed them.
October 29th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
[...] Bank of America Racing Challenge is the richest and most successful program in American Quarter Horse racing today – a championship series developed for the “World’s Fastest [...]
April 13th, 2010 at 8:52 am
[...] strictly in the international segment of the industry. He says he also wants to learn more about Quarter Horse racing – “because I come from the showing side of the industry” – and he is particularly [...]
June 8th, 2010 at 8:57 am
[...] most often be eliminated from wagering consideration. However, if your program includes enough races so that you can see how this runner performed after similar layoffs in the past, you might find [...]
September 8th, 2010 at 11:08 pm
I am searching to find the name(s) of the best known racing quarter horses in history; I find it interesting that many famous Thoroughbreds are familiar to a lot of us but I don’t think I know one famous racing quarter horse – can anyone tell me? In the meantime I’ll keep googling, this was my first stop!
Lydia Bosley LFBosley@hughes.net
October 27th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
esa carrera es de las mas fregonas y del jokey ni se diga es un amorsote bien fregon….
December 7th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
[...] And Reason No. 2? There are a number of American Quarter Horses in the movie, including one of the horses who played Secretariat. Rusty was looking for a horse with enough speed to zip around a pack of racehorses – and he knew for that quick burst of speed, he’d better look for a Quarter Horse. [...]
May 2nd, 2011 at 7:25 am
[...] Horses are known for their quick bursts of speed – after all, their abilities as quarter-mile sprinters are what earned them their very name. Those same abilities propelled one American Quarter Horse [...]
February 24th, 2012 at 5:07 pm
if a QH were to race a TB for a quartermile for speed who would win
February 27th, 2012 at 9:48 pm
I would like to know wich Thoroughbred is the fastest in USA in a quarter mile?
November 4th, 2012 at 6:54 pm
My quarter horse used to race. I was wanting to look up his record but wasnt sure where I could find this information. I got his number from the tattoo on his lip. Any suggestions?
November 4th, 2012 at 7:10 pm
Nicole, you can look up Quarter Horse record here: http://www.aqha.com/About/Content-Pages/About-the-Association/Services/Buy-Records.aspx
December 10th, 2012 at 5:58 am
Dear Sr.
I’d like to know when the Quarter Horse was divided in cutting and racing lines.
Thank you very much for your kind attention
Best regards