Why do they train horses at 4am?

Question

Does anyone know why they train race horses before sunrise?

Answer 1

FI3 if that is true, how can they have the actual races take place in front of thousands of screaming people in the hot sun.  Wouldn't the horses freak out?  They do early morning runs because the track is closed (most open around noon). and horses are early risers anyway.

Answer 2

Its quieter so the horse can really concentrate and its cooler, so it doesnt overwork it self. Also the horse doesnt injure itself that easily

Answer 3

Most trainers don't do this. There are some occasions where the trainer doesn't want others to notice problems such as soundness issues where the horse might be worked under cover of darkness. Some trainers just prefer not to do public works that will end up published. This is fairly rare and many race tracks won't allow it. Most workouts occur under the supervision of track staff during daylight hours. To be sure it is early in the morning, as early as 5:30 or 6 AM. This is because all the horses working out have to be off the track for the track to be prepped for the afternoon race program. The trainers also need time to go home and change for the afternoon race program.

Answer 4

because of the cool temperature & the quiet atmosphere,it relaxses the horses and makes the riders job more easier..horses are sensitive animals & even a small object on the ground or a sudden sound of the wind could scare & make them jump up especially thoroughbred horses (Racing Horse)..

Answer 5

It depends on the hours the track is open for training. On my home track there are set training hrs 6am-11am with a break @ 9am. You can't train unless an ambulance is on site & the outriders are at their post. The earlier you start the cooler it is and the track is less crowded. As the morning wears on it can be a madhouse with some horses working, some galloping, some jogging the wrong way, and some out with a pony. Depends on the horse and how it trains. It also depends on how many horses a trainer has. A big barn may have 50-75 head. They can't all go out at once, the biggest barn I worked for had 7 grooms. We all rubbed 6-8 horses. We each had tack for 2 horses and sometimes you have to share specialty equipment/ bridles with certain bits. Also there's the exercise riders' schedule to accomodate, you might have a few that work exclusively for a single trainer but many get rides from barns all over the grounds.

Answer 6

Training in the early hours of the day is the custom largely because at a racetrack, the management needs to close the grounds for training around mid-morning to begin preparing the track for racing in the afternoon.  

At a typical racetrack here in America, there are usually anywhere from 1500 to 2500 horses stabled on the backside.  Those horses all have to be excercised in some way every day.  Some of them will just be hand-walked around the barn area, some of them might be ridden around the barn area;  if the track has a training track, some will go there and work.  But a lot of them go out to the main track to work.  

To get finished by the time that the track superintendent closes the track for work around mid-morning, people have to start early.  

Also, most trainers have other things they need to do besides getting the horses out to train.  There are vets and farriers that have to be called and coordinated with, feed and other supplies that have to be ordered, personnel matters to be dealt with.  If the trainer has horses that are racing that day, he has to deal with preparing for that.  He has to go through the condition book to prepare to make entries for future races.  If he operates a stable that is active in claiming horses out of claiming races, he has to look at what's entered in claiming races and decide if he's going to drop a claim in.  Since horses are constantly coming and going, he may have to look forward to upcoming sales, either to buy or sell horses for clients.  He may be sending horses out to lay-up centers for rest or checking up on horses he has at lay-up centers.  If he's a trainer who has a large enough stable to operate in divisions at several tracks or training centers, then he's got to talk to his assistants about what's going on.  

And of course there are owners to be called.  To tell them that something is wrong with a horse, or to tell them that a horse is going to have a timed work-out soon, or to tell them about a race coming up.  To explain a bill, to talk about a prospective purchase, to discuss entries.  

Then in the afternoon, there are the races.  Even if he doesn't have a horse entered, a trainer is likely going to spend some time watching what's going on:  to look at a horse he may claim later, to watch a jockey he may put up on his horses, to meet with other trainers or talk to a prospective owner, to look at the offspring of a mare that has a yearling in an upcoming sale.  

The work at a racetrack has a natural "rhythm" of routine that's built around the schedule of the races, and the most natural time to work the horses is early in the morning.  

FWIW, if you've ever read about the routine at one of the training centers like Fair Hill in Maryland, you'll find that the routine there is different and that horses are trained all day long (weather permitting) and the day doesn't start quite so early for most of the horses.  That's why some trainers prefer to train from a training center-- they don't have to build their routine around the track being open for training only for a few hours early in the morning to mid-morning.  It's quieter and there's less bustle and horses can get out for longer periods of time.

Answer 7

To allievate the crowds of horses working out on any particular day.  Also, there is less chance on an injury occuring..