Horse Training: Direction and Tactics on the Track

Question
Is there ever a time when horses will be training on the track and actually towards each other or do they all always all run/train in the same direction on the course?
Thanks for your time.

Becky

Answer
Yes there are horses going both ways and toward each other during training. The general rule at North American race tracks is that the faster you go, the closer to the rail you should be. A horse should never pass a horse on the outside without proper warning or if a group is training together and teaching the horses to pass in this fashion. A horse may only jog/trot the opposite direction to the galloping horses if he is only at a jog and on the outside rail while traveling clockwise. In this case no horse should be galloping counter clockwise or normal North American racing direction on the outside rail. Hope this answers your question thoroughly.

Christopher Crocker

Crocker Racing Stable Inc.

Http://CrockerRacingStable.com