colonial racing

[Still Dreaming]

Not about any particular horse, but can anyone refer me to a website or a book that might have information on horse racing in colonial America? Not necessarily thoroughbreds, because I know there were contests held before the importation of Bulle Rock in 1730.

Thanks
-Liz

[LaTroienne]

Some info here:

The British settlers brought horses and horse racing with them to the New World, with the first racetrack laid out on Long Island as early as 1665. Although the sport became a popular local pastime, the development of organized racing did not arrive until after the Civil War. (The American Stud Book was begun in 1868.) For the next several decades, with the rapid rise of an industrial economy, gambling on racehorses, and therefore horse racing itself, grew explosively; by 1890, 314 tracks were operating across the country.

The rapid growth of the sport without any central governing authority led to the domination of many tracks by criminal elements. In 1894 the nation's most prominent track and stable owners met in New York to form an American Jockey Club, modeled on the English, which soon ruled racing with an iron hand and eliminated much of the corruption.

This is a good resource all about colonial racing:

http://www.derbypost.com/history3.html

Although quarter horse racing--two horses running full speed for a quarter mile--and harness racing began their development in America as early 1665, thoroughbred racing did not exist in America until Oliver Cromwell's government (see Part I) forced Royalists and Cavaliers out of England. These families, with their wealth, customs and traditions, settled in Virginia, Maryland and South Carolina; they also enslaved Africans, whose knowledge of hot-blooded horses far exceeded that of their masters. In 1730, Bulle Rock, then a 21-year old of the Darley Arabian (see Part II), became the first true thoroughbred brought to America. Other colonists were involved over the years, including George Washington, who managed a track in Alexandria, Virginia and trained horses at Mount Vernon both before and after the American Revolution. But pedigree record keeping was shoddy in the South, and as debts to England for all colonists continued to escalate leading up to the Revolution, Northern colonial congresses urged the prohibition of all forms of extravagance, especially horse racing. Southerners refused, arguing that racing was a way of life, and an excellent preparation for a war that would erase all their foreign debts. Unfortunately, the Revolution and military effort depleted the thoroughbred stock, and after the war thoroughbred breeding had to begin all over again.
The Birth of the Origin of the Kentucky Derby
It was during the Revolutionary War, however, that Englishmen developed "the Darby." In September 1776, British race-goers witnessed a race called the St. Leger, named after an army officer. The race was an end of season, winner-take-all sweepstakes, limited to three year old colts and fillies. In 1778, Edward Stanley, twelfth Earl of Derby, suggested a mile and a half race for fillies called the Oaks, named after his country retreat near Epsom and run for the first time in June 1779. The success of this race led to plans for a similar race at Epsom, run in the spring of 1780 as a mile and then a mile and a half in 1784.
As legend has it, a senior Jockey Club member named Sir Charles Bunbury and Lord Derby set the terms of the race, and agreed that the event should be named for one of them. Needless to say, Lord Derby won that coin toss, but it was Bunbury's horse Diomed (see Part II) that won the first Epsom Derby. Ironically, it would be a thoroughbred with Diomed blood that would win the first Kentucky Derby ninety-six years later. No one in the colonies paid much attention, of course, but after the Revolutionary War, Kentucky was opened to immigrants and colonists alike. By 1785, pioneer wagons were pouring through the Cumberland Gap (see Part II), and flatboats were bringing settlers to the Kentucky shoreline along the Ohio River. The Bluegrass region was very amenable to breeding thoroughbreds, and Lexington and Louisville were even more amenable to racing. "In Kentucky, racing flourished as never before."

[Pan Zareta]

Not about any particular horse, but can anyone refer me to a website or a book that might have information on horse racing in colonial America? Not necessarily thoroughbreds, because I know there were contests held before the importation of Bulle Rock in 1730.

Culver, Francis Barnum. Blooded Horses of Colonial Days: Classic Horse Matches in America Before the Revolution. 1922.

Hervey, John L. Racing in American 1665-1865. 2 Vols. The Jockey Club, 1944.

Irving, Dr. John B. History of the South Carolina Turf. 1857

Mackay-Smith, Alexander. The Colonial Quarter Racehorse. 1983

Any of Fairfax Harrison's equine works.

[madelyn]

Jockeys, Belles and Bluegrass Kings, by Lynne Renau...