If you are curious about the history of horse racing you will find that there are many interesting facts known about this sport that is also one of the first sports practiced by early humankind. As a matter of fact, the origins of the sport go back to prehistoric times when various nomadic tribesmen from the Central Asian region first domesticated and then began racing horses. This in fact started way back in 4500 BC.
From then onwards, the history of horse racing has seen many interesting twists and turns, but it did being as a sport in which the main players were nobles as well as royalty. Today, this sport has been transformed into one that is mainly about gambling.
In fact, modern horse racing is the second most popular sport in the US and is surpassed only be baseball. Billions of dollars are wagered by millions of people who go to the races for thousands of days of intense horse racing.
Canada, Great Britain, countries from Western Europe, New Zealand, Ireland, Australia and South America as well as South Africa is the countries where this sport is especially popular. When it comes to picking the most popular form of racing, thoroughbred racing is easily the pick of the bunch and it involves racing horses over flats for distances that vary between three fourths of a mile to two miles.
Other forms of racing that are very popular include steeplechase racing and harness racing and quarter horse racing too is very popular. As already mentioned, the earliest racing took place among the civilizations of Central Asia as well as in the Mediterranean.
In the early days of racing, racing with chariots pulled by horses and also mounted racing was most popular and the Greeks loved it and included it in their Olympics that were held in 638 BC. The Roman Empire was also smitten by this sport.
The history of modern horse racing can be traced to the twelfth century which is when English Knights returning from the Crusades brought with them a complement of Arab stallions that were bred with mares from England. The result was many a fleet footed horse and also many that could race over longer distances.
It was the norm in those days for people to lay private wagers as to which among two horses would come out ahead of the other in a two horse race. Of course, the nobility found this sport to be especially interesting and they did in fact consider it a major attraction.
Racing was professionalized in the early years of the eighteenth century by Queen Anne, and the rest of course, is now history.
From then onwards, the history of horse racing has seen many interesting twists and turns, but it did being as a sport in which the main players were nobles as well as royalty. Today, this sport has been transformed into one that is mainly about gambling.
In fact, modern horse racing is the second most popular sport in the US and is surpassed only be baseball. Billions of dollars are wagered by millions of people who go to the races for thousands of days of intense horse racing.
Canada, Great Britain, countries from Western Europe, New Zealand, Ireland, Australia and South America as well as South Africa is the countries where this sport is especially popular. When it comes to picking the most popular form of racing, thoroughbred racing is easily the pick of the bunch and it involves racing horses over flats for distances that vary between three fourths of a mile to two miles.
Other forms of racing that are very popular include steeplechase racing and harness racing and quarter horse racing too is very popular. As already mentioned, the earliest racing took place among the civilizations of Central Asia as well as in the Mediterranean.
In the early days of racing, racing with chariots pulled by horses and also mounted racing was most popular and the Greeks loved it and included it in their Olympics that were held in 638 BC. The Roman Empire was also smitten by this sport.
The history of modern horse racing can be traced to the twelfth century which is when English Knights returning from the Crusades brought with them a complement of Arab stallions that were bred with mares from England. The result was many a fleet footed horse and also many that could race over longer distances.
It was the norm in those days for people to lay private wagers as to which among two horses would come out ahead of the other in a two horse race. Of course, the nobility found this sport to be especially interesting and they did in fact consider it a major attraction.
Racing was professionalized in the early years of the eighteenth century by Queen Anne, and the rest of course, is now history.
About the Author:
If you want to be a top Australian horse rider, then you need to get some horse racing tips on the Net. There are a lot of Australian horse races that take place every year.
No comments:
Post a Comment