Thoroughbred Horse Racing History
Although horse racing officially began in ancient Greece, modern horse racing did not begin until the 12 th century and it was not until the early 1700's that horse racing actually became a professional sport.
It was during the reign of Queen Anne in the 1700's that races were actually wagered on. Racetracks began popping up all over England during that time period and in 1750 the Jockey Club was formed to oversee control of English racing.
It was the Jockey Club that made many of the horse racing rules and they also were a leader in the regulation of breeding. The subject of breeding is one that could span a number of books, but suffice it to say that James Weatherby was the major reason pedigrees and breeding are a big part of horse racing today. From England, horse racing was brought to the United States, but it was not until after the Civil War that horse racing was really established in the U.S. During the mid 1800's horse racing grew and became very popular by 1890 when there were over 300 racetracks in the United States. As popular as it was during the late 1800's, it almost got wiped out completely in the early 1900's by the anti-gambling movement that led almost all states to ban wagering. In 1908 the number of racetracks was down to just 25. That same year though pari-mutuel betting was started on the Kentucky Derby and this led to horse racing going up the popularity ladder again. States had agreed to legalize the pari-mutuel betting and horse racing benefited greatly. Great horses like Man 0'War and Seabiscuit gave horse racing a big following for many years, but during the war years the sport slowed down a bit. It picked back up in the 1970's when some great horses dominated the stage. Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed, each won the Triple Crown and horse racing was beloved by many people. Unfortunately horse racing has never enjoyed that type of popularity since those Triple Crown years.
The United States currently has thoroughbred tracks all over the country, but it is really the Triple Crown that draws the most interest. In the last 20 years the Breeder's Cup races also kept up racing interest. Betting today at American tracks is done under the pari-mutuel system where a fixed percentage of the amount wagered goes to the track for expenses. The projected payoffs are continuously calculated by the track's computers and displayed as “odds.” All tracks have the normal win, bet and show options along with exotic wagers like exactas, trifectas, daily doubles, pick 3's and pick 6's.
Scomette Di Cavalli
