Horseracing is probably the oldest sport on the planet. It is credible that horses have been raced competitively, with attendant wagers, since their domestication. It is therefore not surprising that the genesis of horseracing can be traced back to the cradle of civilisation – Central Asia.
The earliest archaeological traces of horse domestication date back to around 6,000 BC. Historians believe that horses were first ridden for war and transport purposes before being used as harness animals. With speed integral to horses’ usefulness to mankind, it is likely that the earliest races were used to compare and test the speed of horses. Whether or not wagers were placed on these races is not known.
Chariots
It took the invention of the wheel to give rise to the first recorded formal horse races. Chariots had been in use for centuries before the first recorded instance of organised chariot horse races was made at the Ancient Olympics in the 7th century BC. After the decline of Greek civilisation the sport was picked up by the Romans, who turned out in their tens of thousands to witness the chariot races at the Collosseum.
The Rise of the Arabians
The next major step in the evolution of horseracing took place during the Crusades. The Crusaders returned from the East with horses swifter, but smaller, than those favoured by European knights. These were bred with the massive warhorses of the Crusaders, giving birth to fast and powerful horses ideal for racing.
The Sport of Kings
Whilst the Romans were likely to have introduced formal chariot racing contests to Britain, it is the British aristocracy of the 16th century who are credited with the introduction of formal horseback racing to the Island.
Having the wealth to purchase the finest racehorses, and the leisure time to train and race them, the British nobility had begun the building of racecourses on their island during the early 1500s. Horseracing was one of the first sports exported to the New World, with the first American race meeting run in 1665.
The Birth of the Ascot Legend
During the 1700s, the birth of professional horse racing in the British Islands took place with the creation of the famous Royal Meeting at Ascot. Queen Anne is generally credited with bringing the sport to the Ascot downs, as well as with providing the purses for the first races run there. The earliest meetings at Ascot were run by the bloodlines created by the inter-breeding of the finest European and Arabian horses – the thoroughbred racehorse.
The Spread of Thoroughbred Racing
The popularity of thoroughbred racing grew rapidly during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Royal Meeting at Ascot rapidly established itself as the most important race meeting of the year, and within a century the first of the Classics, the Epsom Derby, was run at Epsom Downs. This rapid period of growth for the sport coincided with the expansion of the British Empire, and races based on the English Classics were soon set up in even the most remote colonies.
The Jockey Clubs
It was also at this time that the first jockey clubs were set up in England, France and the colonies. These organisations were created to codify and enforce rules for thoroughbred horseracing, and to select racecourses considered suitable for hosting the sport.
At the same time, the Jockey Club set about the task of regulating the quality of the horses competing in thoroughbred races, which eventually resulted in the compilation of the first stud book. This tome traced the pedigree of every thoroughbred horse in the United Kingdom back to one of the three Arabian sires originally used to breed with.
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