An Introduction To The History Of Horse Racing

History records that man first domesticated wild horse around 4500 BC and that was the beginning of the love affair between humans and horses. There is no certainty as to when horse racing began but with humans being so competitive, it is like that soon after they were domesticated, people started arguing about whose horse was the best and raced them to prove their points. The history of horse racing as a sport begins with the prehistoric cultures of the Central Asia and the Mediterranean from where it spread to Greece - it is known to have been part of the Olympics as far back as 638 BC.

The Romans then adopted the sport and both chariot and horse racing were taken all over their huge empire. At the end of the Crusades in the 1100s, English knights returning from the wars brought back with them the Arabian horses that were being used for racing in southern Europe. Although these horses were very fast, they were unable to cope with the cold climates of the north and so people began to cross them with local breeds which is where the business of breeding horses for racing begins. The history of horse racing records that the first organized races were held in England in the early 16th century and the first proper race track came into existence by the middle of the century.

Because of the cost and logistics involved, horse racing for money was restricted to the nobility which is why it became known as the "sport of kings." It was only over the next 2 centuries that its popularity spread and it became a sport of interest to the general public. Horse racing came to America with the horses that the first settlers brought with them - it became a popular sport and in a short period of time the country's first race track was created at Long Island. Racing was a privilege of the landed gentry who used the races to show off their breeding and training skills at races tracks that began to come up around New York.

It was around the time of the Civil war that the popularity of horse racing began to spread and businessmen saw the huge potential of organized racing for money. The first commercial race track came up at Saratoga Springs in the 1860s and with the running of the first stakes race, racing in America, as we know it today, was born. While wars and economic problems may have slowed the growth of horse racing at times, it has continued to grow as a popular sport and with online betting and TV taking racing into every home, there is no place where racing is not a subject of interest.