Early history
Knowledge of the first horse race is lost in prehistory. Both four-hitch chariot and mounted (bareback) races were held in the Olympic Games of Greece over the period 700–40 bce. Horse racing, both of chariots and of mounted riders, was a well-organized public entertainment in the Roman Empire. The history of organized racing in other ancient civilizations is not very firmly established. Presumably, organized racing began in such countries as China, Persia, Arabia, and other countries of the Middle East and in North Africa, where horsemanship early became highly developed. Thence came too the Arabian, Barb, and Turk horses that contributed to the earliest European racing. Such horses became familiar to Europeans during the Crusades (11th to 13th century ce), from which they brought those horses back.
Racing in medieval England began when horses for sale were ridden in competition by professional riders to display the horses’ speed to buyers. During the reign of Richard the Lion-Heart (1189–99), the first known racing purse was offered, £40, for a race run over a 3-mile (4.8-km) course with knights as riders. In the 16th centuryHenry VIII imported horses from Italy and Spain (presumably Barbs) and established studs at several locations. In the 17th century James I sponsored meetings in England. His successor, Charles I, had a stud of 139 horses when he died in 1649.
Organized racing
Charles II (reigned 1660–85) became known as “the father of the English turf” and inaugurated the King’s Plates, races for which prizes were awarded the winners. His articles for these races were the earliest national racing rules. The horses raced were six years old and carried 168 pounds (76 kg), and the winner was the first to win two 4-mile (6.4-km) heats. The patronage of Charles II established Newmarket as the headquarters of English racing.
In North America Richard Nicolls, governor of the colony of New York, in 1665 offered a silver cup, the first known North American racing trophy, to be run for at Hampstead Plain, Long Island. Thus began course racing in North America.
In France the first documented horse race was held in 1651 as the result of a wager between two noblemen. During the reign of Louis XIV (1643–1715), racing based ongambling was prevalent. Louis XVI (reigned 1774–93) organized a jockey club and established rules of racing by royal decree that included requiring certificates of origin for horses and imposing extra weight on foreign horses.
Match races
The earliest races were match races between two horses, or at most three, the owners providing the purse, a simple wager. An owner who withdrew commonly forfeited half the purse, later the whole purse, and bets also came under the same “play or pay” rule. Agreements were recorded by disinterested third parties, who came to be called keepers of the match book. One such keeper at Newmarket, John Cheny, began publishing Cheny’s Horse Matches (1727), a consolidation of match books at various racing centres; and this work was continued annually with varying titles, until in 1773 James Weatherby established it as the Racing Calendar, continued thereafter by his family.
And here is a quote I found on a website with the history of Irish horse racing:
"To the famous course at Kildare, the Irish Newmarket, for hunting and horse racing where we spent all Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at these sports, out early and late... admirable good sport…"
- Colonel Edward Cooke to Lord Bruce 12 November 1662
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