Last time out the Daily Racing Blog explained (and debunked) a few of the myths surrounding thoroughbred horse racing.  Today we serve up a few fun facts regarding the equine athletes.

1. All racehorses celebrate their birthday on the same day.  Regardless of what date they were born on, each Thoroughbred turns a year older on January 1st in the Northern Hemisphere or Aug. 1 in the Southern Hemisphere, for ease of grouping them by age for racing and training.

2. An average racehorse weighs around a half-ton (1,000 pounds).

3. Thoroughbred hooves, like those of all horse breeds, are made of the same protein as fingernails: keratin.

4. A racehorse is born after an 11 month gestation.  Foals weigh around 100 pounds and stand up to nurse within hours of being born.

5. A Thoroughbred can top out at more than 40 mph when racing, though they usually don’t sustain top speed for the entire race but try to reserve it for the stretch run before the finish.

6. A racehorse can consume 20 pounds of food or more, plus 13 gallons of water every day.

We hope you enjoyed these tidbits of trivial thoroughbred knowledge.  Be sure to check with DRB later in the week when we will preview the Lecomte Stakes coming up Saturday at The Fairgrounds.  It is a Kentucky Derby prep race, with the winning horse earning 10 points toward a spot in the gate on the 4th of May.  So stop back.