Horse Racing Throughout the History
Man may be known to make use of race horses for racing since this specie was first domesticated. Historical evidences uncover that as early as 4500 BC, the actual nomadic individuals of Central Asia has already developed techniques of horse racing. Actually, the Greeks tend to be known to have incorporated horse racing in the Olympics since 638 BC.
Both the chariot horse racing and the mounted horse racing were well-liked during these ages. These later on grew to become an obsession among Romans when they have adopted the sport.
For thousand of years that followed, this type of sports was considered to be performed only for the noble men as well as royalties.
Modern racing is believed to have started in the 12th hundred years when the first reproduction between Arabian and English horses were made. They were sparred by the return of the noble knights to the mother land after the Crusades. They are known to possess produced sturdy race horses with superb speed. Thus, breeders maximized the potentiality of a racehorse as well as put all of them into tracks. This particular breed is the Thoroughbred that we know of today which is still typically the most popular breed in the United Kingdom.
King Charles II was known to have held horse races in his private courses during 1660 in order to 1685.
Through the 16th century, the English have been known to produce a number of racecourses. Queen Anne who started the Ascot in 1711 is known to have made horse racing an official sport.
Halfway in 1700�s, the Jockey Club was created through the initiation of the elite figures involved with horse racing. This business was the first legion of jockeys that established the comprehensive rules and regulations including the standards as covered by the actual sports activities. Thus, they became the overseers of the sports and sanctioned horse racing events.
The Jockey Club was also the initiator for the regulation of breeding among race horses. Thus, James Weatherby, an accountant of the Jockey Club during those times, traced back the family lines of all racing breeds in England. His researches brought forth the book of the General Stud Book, which was essentially, the basis of authority when it comes to the breeds that could be put to competition. Based on the General Stud Book, only those pedigrees that have descended from the line of the “foundations sires” are believed as Thoroughbreds. The building blocks sires are the: Byerley Turk, Darley Arabian as well as Godolphin Arabian.
Only in 17th century did the sport arrive in America for which the initial racetrack was seen in the Long Island. While it has become a favorite past time among Americans, no one initiated the formalization of horse racing until after the Civil War. Due to the already-established obsession plus the industrial development, and widespread betting on horse races, the activity grew largely by the year 1890 when 314 operating tracks are considered to be on regular operation in the united kingdom.
Because of the lack of a governing body, this sport had become purely dominated by criminal elements. In 1894 though, the most notable and high-ranking stable owners met as well as organized the American Jockey Club which was patterned on the system as used by the actual Jockey Club in England.
These days the sport has reached various countries around the world. Governing bodies were also formed to manage the horse racing events.
