<p>The Bangalore Turf Club will host ‘The Kingfisher Ultra Derby’ on July 21. Ten best horses of high profile owners from across the country will compete for the title.<br /><br />The event is curated by Mohit Lalvani, who says that he has been involved with horse racing since childhood, carrying on a family tradition.<br /><br />Metrolife interacted with a few jockeys to understand how the horses are trained, ahead of the derby. <br /><br /><strong>Horses groomed to be racers from birth</strong></p>.<p>The horses are groomed to be racers as soon as they are born; they start competing at the age of two.</p>.<p>The competitors in the derby are all three-year-old horses, which is when they are at their peak.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Special diet for them</strong><br /><br />The horses require a lot of care and attention, which includes special routines and diet charts.</p>.<p>They are given a high-energy diet, replete with proteins, carbohydrates and fibre.</p>.<p>“They eat a lot of oats, porridge and barley. We also get a lot of pelleted food in the market these days, which has all the necessary ingredients to form a balanced meal,” explains Lalvani.<br /><br /><strong>Swimming and riding lessons to prep them, maintain body weight</strong><br /><br />Trainers and caretakers take the horses for swimming and short sprints to get them race-ready. The high-intensity lap in the race can be rigorous for both the horse and its jockey. The jockey also has to maintain an optimum body weight of 47 to 52 kg.</p>.<p><strong>Short racing life, then sold to farms</strong><br /><br />The horses compete in races only for two to three years. After that, they are sold to riding schools or stud farms. <br /><br /><strong><span>Fact file </span></strong><br />- Traditionally, the term ‘derby’ is used strictly to refer to races restricted to three-year-olds, as the English and US Triple Crown races all are.<br />- The first racecourse in India was set up in Madras in 1777. Today, the country<br />has nine racetracks by six racing authorities.</p>
<p>The Bangalore Turf Club will host ‘The Kingfisher Ultra Derby’ on July 21. Ten best horses of high profile owners from across the country will compete for the title.<br /><br />The event is curated by Mohit Lalvani, who says that he has been involved with horse racing since childhood, carrying on a family tradition.<br /><br />Metrolife interacted with a few jockeys to understand how the horses are trained, ahead of the derby. <br /><br /><strong>Horses groomed to be racers from birth</strong></p>.<p>The horses are groomed to be racers as soon as they are born; they start competing at the age of two.</p>.<p>The competitors in the derby are all three-year-old horses, which is when they are at their peak.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Special diet for them</strong><br /><br />The horses require a lot of care and attention, which includes special routines and diet charts.</p>.<p>They are given a high-energy diet, replete with proteins, carbohydrates and fibre.</p>.<p>“They eat a lot of oats, porridge and barley. We also get a lot of pelleted food in the market these days, which has all the necessary ingredients to form a balanced meal,” explains Lalvani.<br /><br /><strong>Swimming and riding lessons to prep them, maintain body weight</strong><br /><br />Trainers and caretakers take the horses for swimming and short sprints to get them race-ready. The high-intensity lap in the race can be rigorous for both the horse and its jockey. The jockey also has to maintain an optimum body weight of 47 to 52 kg.</p>.<p><strong>Short racing life, then sold to farms</strong><br /><br />The horses compete in races only for two to three years. After that, they are sold to riding schools or stud farms. <br /><br /><strong><span>Fact file </span></strong><br />- Traditionally, the term ‘derby’ is used strictly to refer to races restricted to three-year-olds, as the English and US Triple Crown races all are.<br />- The first racecourse in India was set up in Madras in 1777. Today, the country<br />has nine racetracks by six racing authorities.</p>