History of Horse Racing in UK
Horse racing started in the ancient
world of the Greeks. And like many other events in the history, this sport
was passed on to Romans who have learned to become obsessed with the sport.
The Greeks back then incorporated this game in the Olympics, which helped
it gain natural popularity.
The origin of the game in United
Kingdom though begins with the importation of Arabian stallions into England
during and after the Crusades. The combination of the stock from Middle
East and the breeds in Europe led to the emergence of a swift runner with
a steady build.
During the course of Europe’s horse
racing history, we can observe that the sport was dedicated primarily to
the noble and royal families alone. The commoners served as the spectators.
In fact, Charles II and Queen Anne
were known to have been obsessed with horse racing that both had private
and public horse racing competitions held through their own initiatives.
Horse racing in Europe was marked
later with the development of various racing arenas throughout the land.
However, professional horse racing occurred during the 16th century when
the great classics were established.
Even before America has got its American
Jockey Club, Europe has already established the first governing body for
horse racing. In line with this, it has already accomplished various things
pertaining to horse racing.
The Jockey Club of England was established
due to the movement initiated by the elite of horse racing. This then became
the overseer of racetracks, races, standards for horse breeds, and event
rules and regulations. In short, they formalized the sport, as we know
of today during 1750s. The Jockey Club was also responsible for the early
determination of breeding lines of the horses.
James Weatherby, an official of the
Jockey Club was the first to distinguish the founding sires of the stallions
that we now know as Thoroughbreds.
Throughout the development of the
game, various types were formed. These are called as the classics.
Among the most popular are St. Leger
that was founded during 1776, the Oaks which was founded 3 years after,
the next year produced the Derby, 2,000 Guineas in 1809 and 1000 Guineas
that was created five years after.
All these, among with other events,
were created through the formation of the Jockey Club.
St. Leger St. Leger was founded by
a former Irish soldier Lieutenant Colonel Anthony St Leger. The very first
event under this category was held on September 24, 1776. It has the longest
distance among the English Classics, which ran over 132 yards, 1m and 6f.
On our present sense, this range
was relatively short which led to questioning its worth since ranges seem
to have switched to more glamorous distances. This game existed for 227
years but was canceled during the Civil War.
The Derby This horse racing event
rooted from a race that was devised by Edward Smith Stanley who was the
Earl of Derby during 1779. With his friends, they intended to race only
among themselves over 1 ½ miles. This was named after his estate,
Oaks. The race has become successful that the following year saw the second
race of its kind.
The name of the race was then founded
after the Earl won in a game of flipped coin with his friend Sir Charles
Bunbury, then was an excellent racing figure.
These are just two of the most famous
English Classics. Central to all these is that despite the presence of
horse racing among other cultures, Europe is still credited for being the
proponent for the 1st formal exhibition of horse racing.
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