Top 10 Songs Celebrating The Spirit Of Horse Racing

Who doesn't love a good anthem song? If you are preparing for a Preakness Stakes viewing party, there are a million things to do. Develop your guest list.

Plan the menu. Pick a colorful but tasteful outfit. Brush up on horse betting basics.

Don’t sleep on putting together a great playlist.

Some of the songs on this list are directly about racing. Many are more focused on accomplishing that unique magic trick music is so good at. Capturing the way something feels.

What songs best celebrate the feeling of horse racing? Let’s get into it.

1. Born To Run: By Bruce Springsteen

“Oh honey, tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run
Come on with me, tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run”

The song, though clearly about pursuing a life of freedom and adventure, puts in plain words the spirit behind any great race. Be free. Run fast. One million things go into preparing for a race like the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness Stakes. At the end of the day, though, these animals were born to run. Don’t you forget it.

2. Camptown Races

“Goin' to run all night

Goin' to run all day

I bet my money on a bob-tailed nag

Somebody bet on the bay”

It’s campy as could be. Probably not a staple of your jogging playlist. Still, you can’t deny that this song focuses on racing. First played in 1850, the song clearly has staying power. It must be doing something right.

3. Up on Cripple Creek, The Band

“If I spring a leak, she mends me

I don't have to speak, she defends me

A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one”

Telling the story about a man who sets off for an adventure on a horse that is a “drunkard’s dream,” Up on Cripple Creek is a rock classic of the late 60s.

4. Wildfire, Michael Martin Murphy

She comes down from Yellow Mountain

“On a dark, flat land she rides

On a pony she named Wildfire

A whirlwind by her side

On a cold Nebraska night”

Wildfire. It’s almost hard to imagine a better name for a horse. This song speaks to the incredible power and beauty of a horse doing what it does best.

5. Run for the Roses, Dan Fogleberg

“And it's run for the roses

As fast as you can

Your fate is delivered

Your moment's at hand

It's the chance of a lifetime

In a lifetime of chance

And it's high time

You joined in the dance”

Very literally about a horse that has trained long and hard for its moment. All that work pouring into the “chance of a lifetime.” The moment certainly is at hand. Here’s hoping that the horses you bet on rise to the occasion this year.

6. Where the Surf Meets the Turf, Bing Crosby

“There is a smile on every face

and a winner in each race

where the turf meets the surf

at Del Mar.”

This song is all about the joy and excitement of horse racing. It’s become, naturally enough, the long-standing theme song at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in California, where it is played before every race.

7. In the Days Before Rock and Roll, Van Morison

“When we let, then we bet

On Lester Piggott when we met

We let the goldfish go

In the days before rock 'n' roll

Fats did not come in”

This song is actually about looking for good music on the radio. Fans of horse racing have flocked to it to the inclusion of the line “When we let, then we bet.” Despite this, it has a catching rhythm and anthem-like quality that has made it a good addition to the horseracing musical canon.

8. Empire State of Mind, Jay Z

“In New York (ayy, ah-ha) (uh, yeah)

Concrete jungle (yeah) where dreams are made of

There's nothin' you can't do (yeah) (okay)”

Empire State of Mind is used frequently in sports. Though the song does not specifically reference any game, it does embody the spirit of perseverance at the heart of athletics. It was also involved in a minor racing scandal back in 2010 when it was introduced as the theme song at Belmont Stakes.

9. Wild Horses, Garth Brooks

“ Wild horses keep draggin' me away
And I'll lose more than I'm gonna win someday
Wild horses just stay wild, and her heart is all I break
Wild horses keep draggin' me away”

Not only is the song clearly referencing horses, but the lyrics embody the spirit of racing. The tension between losses and wins. The spirit of wild freedom.

This early 2000s hit remains a classic for horse racing fans all over the world.

10. Tennessee Stud, Doc Watson

“Along about eighteen twenty-five

I left Tennessee very much alive

I never would have got through the Arkansas mud

If I hadn't been a-ridin' on the Tennessee Stud”

Tennessee Stud was originally recorded in 1959. Since then, it has been recorded by many of the biggest names in country music, including Johnny Cash. The song is literally about a horse, but it also captures so many of the themes inherent to a good racing strong. Freedom. Perseverance. Independence.

Popnable /Popnable Media