赛马(horse racing)
跑马竞速的一种运动，主要是由骑师跨骑纯种马或由标准竞赛用马拖着一位驾驶者驾驶的载具。尽管赛马古来有之，第一次真正有组织的全国性赛马，是在英格兰的查理二世（Charles II）时代创办的（约1660～85），北美的第一次比赛则是於1665年在长岛举行的。早期的赛马是二或三匹马的竞赛，每匹马都至少要跑两个赛次才能评断出获胜者。到18世纪中叶，较大的赛马场和一次定胜负成为比赛的标准。障碍赛也在此时加入，与此同时的，还有成为赛马标准规格的一部分的赌马。同注分彩法的下注方式始於20世纪。在平坦、椭圆形、一哩长的跑道上竞赛的纯种马赛跑，吸引了最多观众的荷包，马具赛马和四分之一哩赛马次之。在美国，最重要的纯种马赛马有肯塔基德比大赛、普利克内斯有奖赛和贝尔蒙特有奖赛。
English version：
horse racing
Sport of running horses at speed, mainly Thoroughbreds with a rider astride or standardbreds with the horse pulling a conveyance with a driver. Though racing has an ancient lineage, the first regularly organized national races were established in England under Charles II (r. 1660-85), and the first in North America were held on Long Island in 1665. These early races were match events between two or three horses and were run in heats; a horse had to complete at least two heats to be judged the winner. By the mid-18th century, larger fields of runners and single-race “dash” events were the norm. Handicap racing emerged in the mid-18th century as well, as gambling came to be a standard part of horse racing. Pari-mutuel betting was instituted in the 20th century. Thoroughbred racing, conducted on a flat, elliptical, mile-long track, attracts the largest purses, followed by harness racing and quarter-horse racing. The most important U.S. Thoroughbred races are the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. See also steeplechase.