The style of racing, the distances and the type of events varies very much by the country in which the race is occurring, and many countries offer different types of horse races.
In the United States, races can occur on flat surfaces of either dirt or grass, generally thoroughbred racing; other tracks offer quarter horse racing and harness racing, or combinations of these three types of racing. Racing with other breeds, such as Arabian horse racing, is found on a limited basis. American thoroughbred races are run at a wide variety of distances, most commonly from 4.5 furlongs (905 m) to 1½ miles (2414 m); with this in mind, breeders of thoroughbred race horses are able to breed horses to excel at a particular distance.
The high point of US horse racing has traditionally been the Kentucky Derby which, together with the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, form the Triple Crown for three-year-olds. However, in recent years the Breeders' Cup races, held at the end of the year, have been challenging the Triple Crown events, held early in the year, as determiners of the three-year-old champion. They also have an important effect on the selection of other annual champions. The corresponding standard-bred event is the Breeders' Crown. There are also a Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers and a Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters.
American betting on horse racing is sanctioned and regulated by state governments, almost always through legalized parimutuel gambling. Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has its own Hall of Fame for horses, jockeys, and trainers.
The most famous horses from Canada are Northern Dancer, who after winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness went on to become the most successful Thoroughbred sire ever, and his son Nijinsky II. In Canada, however, harness racing is more popular than Thoroughbred racing. Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, home of the Queen's Plate, Canada's premier thoroughbred stakes race, and the North America Cup, Canada's premier standard-bred stakes race, is the only race track in North America which stages Thoroughbred and Standard-bred (harness) meetings on the same day. The North America Cup has the largest purse of any Canadian horse race.
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