They used to have two-mile races, including the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Belmont Park, but the emphasis on speed has basically killed endurance in the thoroughbred racing world. But the sport has always been to some degree about speed, as opposed to some Arabian races in the desert where they go 50 miles. A 50-mile race would be incredibly boring to bet on, and that's kind of the idea of racing in the U.S., U.K., Aus, France, etc. Personally I think the longer races (1 1/4 to 2 mile) races are more interesting than the sprints, but the horses just aren't bred for it anymore.

Each track is actually a different size, and most need the horses to go a little over a lap in a 1 1/4-mile race, including Churchill. It's a one-mile track so they do a lap and a quarter. That's why they move the starting gate around between races using a tractor ... the finish line always stays put, but the starting gate has to go in different places.

Belmont Park is a 1 1/2-mile oval, so the Belmont Stakes, a 1 1/2-mile race, is exactly one lap.

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