The History of Horse Racing
Posted by David ONeil at Feb 27th, 2009 in Horses
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It is hard to imagine in today’s world that one of our favourite sports, horse racing, has been around for thousands of years. It has been noted as being an organised sport as far back as the Greek Olympics in 638 BC.
Horse racing really came into its own when in the 12th century English horses were bred with Arabian horses. This breeding programme produced sturdy horses that had amazing speed. It was around this time that a more modern version of racing began with racecourses opening and rules and standards established.
Newmarket in Britain was the very first venue for horse racing and is now known all over the world. King Charles II arranged horse races in open fields and the winner would be given a prize.
Horse racing changed during the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714), the races involved several horses and racing spectators could bet on their favourite horses. It was, at this time, that Queen Anne founded the famous Ascot course and horse racing became a professional sport.
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