Why does racing (horses or cars) always make left turns only?

Question

It seems like once in awhile they would run they other way and mkae right turns for a change!?!

Answer 1

Maybe in equestrian racing.

fans want to see fast racing without having to be re-educated.

Making the horse run right to left, would only complicated the racing industry to account for itself.  There are enough differences in the race tracks across the industry to challenge the horse without haveing to make'em run the other way.  lol :)

I am sure the are some tracks in north america that run right to left, but not for legal betting, only purse money.

Answer 2

It depends where the horses are racing. In Australia the horses race both directions. For example, in New South Wales the horses run clockwise (making right hand turns). In Victoria, the horses run anti-clockwise (performing left hand turns) Victorian racing chose to race their horses in the opposite direction to New South Wales due to a rivalry between the two states when the thoroughbred racing inductry here was just starting up.

However it is true that some horses are better at racing one way than the other. This is due to their training. Most horses are trained to race around the track in one direction, so their muscles become used to galloping in that direction. When raced the other direction, they're a little stiff due to the lack of running in this new direction.

Answer 3

in australia they go the opposite way with horses

Answer 4

If they turned right, they'd run into the wall, and then look like utter fools.

.

Answer 5

As my knowledge of racing is limited, I'll do this for you.......

The next time I go horseback riding, I'll make sure to only make right turns.

I'm too good to you, aren't I?

That's just how much I care for you!!  lol

Answer 6

in horse racing it's so the horse doesn't become confused, in racing it's so the driver doesn't

Answer 7

horses do better when you turn them to the left and it's probably easier for car drivers too!!!

Answer 8

There are plenty of advantages to driving counterclockwise on the track instead of clockwise, at least in the USA.

Because in the USA people drive on the right side of the road, the steering wheel is on the left side.  So if a driver runs into a wall on turning left (or loses control), which would impact the right side of the car, he is much more protected from the crash by the rest of the car than if he was turning right and lost control (where only the one thin metal door would protect him from the impact).

In addition, it's much easier to see out of the left side of the car, where the steering wheel is, than out of the right side, which is important when moving at high speeds.  That helps to avoid the larger blind spot you have when making a right turn.

On some Australian circuits, both the steering wheel and the driving directions are reversed and the cars actually DO race clockwise for exactly the same reasons.

There are also political reasons for going counterclockwise...as a protest to the former British rule of the American colonies.  The first American circular horse racetrack opened in 1780 in Lincoln, Kentucky, and the owner, a staunch supporter of the American Revolution, insisted the horses run the opposite way from the traditional British clockwise direction, which has held up over the past centuries.

There are other theories too, but none of them hold any sensible explanation and are mostly sensationalist.

Answer 9

The track is an oval, and since most races around a track run counterclockwise, the only choice you have is left.

Answer 10

Horses race in BOTH directions in all of Europe, including in the UK, and in most if not all of Asia. It's only in the US that they run to left at all tracks.

Answer 11

Well this is the TRUE answer. (As far as horse racing is concerned) It originated in England, where they run "clockwise". Part of the American Revolution was to go against this tradition, and all horse races in America were (are) run "Counter-clockwise"

Answer 12

They go in a counter clockwise direction?

Answer 13

Not all run left.  Some tracks run right.  We train our harness race horses both ways.

Answer 14

We drive on the left here.

Some drive on the right.

Hmmm ... I'm baffled.

Good question!  

Hope you get the right answer left.

Answer 15

They see better out of their left eyes.

Answer 16

It is only in America that the racetracks are ALL left-handed.

Across the rest of the racing world we use left handed, right-handed, figure of 8, L-shaped tracks.  They go up and down like rollercoasters and are far more entertaining than the same old boring flat left-handed tracks!  Epsom Downs is the truest test of a racehorse with it's steep climbs, falls, and adverse camber.  As the tagline for the 2004 Derby said "Flat it ain't!"

AS for those people who say that horses go better when turned to the left they are WRONG!  A well trained horse should move easily when turning in both directions, a horse that moves better in one direction only has been badly trained.

Answer 17

The DON'T... REAL RACE CARS... the FORMULA 1 cars race on road coarses where they make right and left hand turns... it's that idiotic NASCAR that AmeriKans seem to think is the only form or auto racing, that only turns left... because it's idiotic... so it's AmeriKan.

Also, with horse racing... the Horse Racing in Australia is just opposite to AmeriKa... they race clock wise... and steeplechases can race both to the right and to the left...

Answer 18

They like to do left turns, if they did right turns they would be going clockwise: hence, they would be reminded that they are really racing against the clock.

Answer 19

They actually do, in both horses and cars. In many countries outside the US horses run the opposite way. As far as cars, alot of series' run road courses, which are left and right turns. And yes, even NASCAR DOES THIS, for all the haters who choose not to believe it. Two road courses in the Nextel/Sprint Cup, and three in the Busch/Nationwide series.

Answer 20

You never watched a race at Road America or Watkins Glen.  They turn both directions.

In North America, on oval tracks, they go counter clockwise because the steering wheel on these cars is on the left hand side of the vehicle on the production cars.  They make the left hand turns on these cars on ovals so the driver has better vision in the turns.

Most of the large tracks are configured to support NASCAR events.  These cars race on ovals counter clockwise.  Rather than have the added expense of configuring a track to race both directions, the open wheel cars race counter clockwise also.

In other regions of the world where the cars are right hand drive, they typically go clockwise on oval tracks.