Jockey //top\\ Access

On the track, they are isolated. Their best friend is the 1,200-pound animal beneath them. A great knows that you cannot intimidate or bully a thoroughbred. You must earn their trust. You must ask, not demand. The horses who win the most are often the ones whose jockey has spent time walking their shedrow, feeding them mints, and learning their quirks.

To the untrained eye, a simply sits on the horse and whips it to go faster. In reality, a race is a four-dimensional chess game played at 40 miles per hour.

Horse racing is the only sport where paramedics follow the players. A fall—known as "the spill"—is catastrophic.