History of Horse Racing in the US

Article by Claire Jarrett

Horse racing in the United States began in 1665, which took place on Long Island in the state of New York. After the introduction of horse racing, there were 314 tracks established by 1890. Soon after, in the year, 1894, the American Jockey Club came to be. However, in the early part of the 20th century, gambling became illegal and bookmaking (taking bets, winning payouts, and calculating odds) became outlawed. This was almost the end to horse racing. In 1908, the introduction of mutual betting brought back the racing industry. Mutual betting is where all bets are placed in a pool and pay-offs shared among all winning bets. Horse racing thrived after introducing this type of betting, until WWII, when people could not afford luxuries. The sport did not become popular again in the United States until horses began winning the Triple Crown. The Triple Crown consists of three races, the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. Among these three races, the most common form of racing, using the Thoroughbred, is flat racing. The track is usually oval and the competition consists of speed and endurance. In flat racing, there are two types of challenges, the condition race, and the handicap. In the condition races, the amount of weight is determined according to the sex and age of the horses and the quality of the runners. During a handicap race, each horse carries a different amount of weight, according to the male or female