The history of horse racing dates back to ancient times; pre-historic times in fact and even then this was a sport for the nobility and kings. So it is not by mistake that one of the best loved sports in the world is called the sport of Kings.
Tracing back into thousands of years of pre-history to find out where this sport first started, we find the tribes of Central Asia partaking of it 4500 years BC ago. They also happened to be the first people to domesticate the horse, so it make sense that they would uses them for this purpose, pitting skill against skill and speed against speed.
Racing in modern times sees the creation of massive venues for legalized gambling and the industries which support this. Horses are expensive to buy, breed and keep and they have to earn their living. Owning horses is definitely the privilege of those rich enough to keep them.
In the United States the biggest spectator sport is baseball, the second biggest is horse racing. Annually people place $ billions of wagers on these races and it is a professional sport all over the world. Most popularly in the US obviously, the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South America, Zimbabwe and Saudi Arabia.
The racing of a thoroughbred (breed) of horse is the most popular type of this sport, it is a flat racetrack and various distances are run. The steeplechase (Grand National), harness and quarter horse racing is also very popular.
As an organized sport, this dates back to way before people kept written record, but once the recording of history began, we can see that this type of racing was very much a part of most ancient cultures. The Olympics featured both chariot and mounted races as far back as 638 BC. The Roman Empire was also pre-occupied with horse racing.
The development of the thoroughbred came about when 12th century crusaders and knights brought Arab stallions back to the British Isles from the Holy Land. For 400 years they imported more Arab stallions and bred them with British mares to develop a horse built for stamina, speed and endurance.
English mares and Arab stallions were bred and this provided a unique blend of speed and endurance, and one of the favorite pastimes of these breeders was to pit one owners' horse against another, for which wagers would be made.
Horse racing became professional in 1702 in the UK, when Queen Anne was in power it was then that more than one steed was used in a race. It became all the rage and racetracks sprung up all over the country.
Tracing back into thousands of years of pre-history to find out where this sport first started, we find the tribes of Central Asia partaking of it 4500 years BC ago. They also happened to be the first people to domesticate the horse, so it make sense that they would uses them for this purpose, pitting skill against skill and speed against speed.
Racing in modern times sees the creation of massive venues for legalized gambling and the industries which support this. Horses are expensive to buy, breed and keep and they have to earn their living. Owning horses is definitely the privilege of those rich enough to keep them.
In the United States the biggest spectator sport is baseball, the second biggest is horse racing. Annually people place $ billions of wagers on these races and it is a professional sport all over the world. Most popularly in the US obviously, the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South America, Zimbabwe and Saudi Arabia.
The racing of a thoroughbred (breed) of horse is the most popular type of this sport, it is a flat racetrack and various distances are run. The steeplechase (Grand National), harness and quarter horse racing is also very popular.
As an organized sport, this dates back to way before people kept written record, but once the recording of history began, we can see that this type of racing was very much a part of most ancient cultures. The Olympics featured both chariot and mounted races as far back as 638 BC. The Roman Empire was also pre-occupied with horse racing.
The development of the thoroughbred came about when 12th century crusaders and knights brought Arab stallions back to the British Isles from the Holy Land. For 400 years they imported more Arab stallions and bred them with British mares to develop a horse built for stamina, speed and endurance.
English mares and Arab stallions were bred and this provided a unique blend of speed and endurance, and one of the favorite pastimes of these breeders was to pit one owners' horse against another, for which wagers would be made.
Horse racing became professional in 1702 in the UK, when Queen Anne was in power it was then that more than one steed was used in a race. It became all the rage and racetracks sprung up all over the country.
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Being one of the most ancient of mankind's sports also makes horse racing one of humanity's most esteemed sports. We've got the best inside scoop on horse racing tips for specifically Australian horse races .
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