Why do most horses race at 3 years old? I thought they didn't mature until at least 4?

Question

Seems like this could be contributing to the number of fatal breakdowns.

Answer 1

They begin racing at 2.

Because that is where the money is.

No, it is not good.

Answer 2

Because some people are money hungry and do not give a c**p about the horses. Horses this young are not matured enough to race. It was proven Saturday. Such a terrible thing that happened that could have been 100% prevented if it wasn;t for greed.

Answer 3

It's for the breeding...

The STUD FEE is where the real money is at.

Horses who win the 2 million dollar Kentucky Derby will get higher stud fees than a horse who wins the 5 million dollar Breeders cup or Dubai World cup.

The Wood Memorial, Santa Anita, Florida, and Arkansas Derbys are strong resume builders for when a horse goes to the breeding farm. (for 3 year olds only)

If your horse wins the Kentucky Derby and one of the following legs like the Preakness or Belmont stakes your set for life.

You don't even have to win the triple crown.

The 3 yearold Traverse stakes also has will have the same monitary effect preakness or Belmont.

Compare Breeding Sire Smarty Jones (Ken. Derby Winner) to Pleasantly Perfect...

The stud fee for Smarty Jones is a $100,000 and he's an unproven sire his kids might not run worth a hang.  

Pleasantly Perfect is a BREEDERS CUP  and a DUBAI CUP winner those are 4 and 5 million dollar races but he has a much cheaper stud fee of $30,000.

AND Smarty Joneses Yearling ponies sell for twice as much on the auction block.

Answer 4

Horses can start racing at age 2, as race horses are bred to be maturing quickly.  However most start racing at age 3.  

Before they are  4 years old, they only race horses there own age, unless they are the very best 3 year olds.

Answer 5

It's always been that way...3 is the first year they are mature enough to run in the big time...get over it people, it's been part of the sport since the beginning...just say a prayer for the horse and move on...