Why has horseracing got furlongs in it?

Question

why not metres

Answer 1

Prior to the development of the Metric system, the imperial system was used.  The imperial system uses Feet, Yards, and Miles as measures of length.  an eight of a mile was termed the furlong and its use is historical.

Answer 2

Horse racing has been a sport for 100's of years but horse breed specially for racing started in England in the 1700's. Wagers and betting became part of the sport instantly as did the differing distances.

At this time a mile was divided into eighths and each of these was called a FURLONG this meant that all races under a mile were given in furlongs. This tradition has stayed with racing