A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head.
The term may be best known as a race between two sailing boats racing around a course. It is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors, by slight variations in the rules and large variations in tactics.
It has also been adopted for horse racing as a race in which only two entrants compete. IMRA, the International Match Race Association, was created in 2009 to enable anyone to enter a one-on-one horse race in all-terrain half-mile loops.
Read more about Match Race: The World of Match Racing, History, How The Race Is Raced, Match Racing in Sailing, Match Races in Horse Racing
Famous quotes containing the words match and/or race:
“The phonographs of hades in the brain
Are tunnels that re-wind themselves, and love
A burnt match skating in a urinal—”
—Hart Crane (1899–1932)
“If this bureau had a prayer for use around horse parks, it would go something like this: Lead us not among bleeding-hearts to whom horses are cute or sweet or adorable, and deliver us from horse-lovers. Amen.... With that established, let’s talk about the death of Seabiscuit the other night. It isn’t mawkish to say, there was a racehorse, a horse that gave race fans as much pleasure as any that ever lived and one that will be remembered as long and as warmly.”
—Walter Wellesley (Red)