Evolution Of Horse Racing

Evolution Of Horse Racing

Kaitlyn Grimwood

ANS 219

Lineage and Evolution of the Thoroughbred Race Horse

It has been said by an unknown source, "A racehorse is an animal that can take several thousand people for ride at the same time." So there is no surprise that Thoroughbreds have an interesting impact on history as their breed has evolved. The thoroughbred lineage has always inspired some form of curiosity and controversy and that still seems to be the case. The evolution of horse racing in general has its own forms of heated disputes. However, the answers being sought are more about the Thoroughbred itself and its story that began so many years ago.

Genuine Thoroughbreds are supposed to be able to trace his or her lineage back to one of the three main sires: the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...The high influxes of thoroughbreds were not all quality horses. Some were handicapped or unskilled racehorses. Breeders would make poor choices and match two unfit horses together; buyers were fools and simply wanted a way into the racing business. Eventually, it was controlled by the importation of high quality stallions to breed and race with–Willett (1975).

Before the thoroughbred lineage was even established, the racing fad had already begun. Unlike today, horse racing wasn't a quick lap around the track. It was a four mile endeavor, run multiple times, that only the fittest horses could run in; the event was called heat racing. The heat races would be between two horses and repeated until one horse had won the event twice or 'distanced' the opponent (Bower et al, 2012).

Not just any horse was allowed to compete in these races. There were serious training programs each horse had to enter into if they wanted to compete. The first race was in 1666 in England. From there, the races only became shorter.

In the mid 1700s, the English Thoroughbred began to make its appearance in America. As they were being imported, the heat racing fad was coming to an end. The classic length races, one to two miles in length and only run once, replaced the high intensity and high stamina

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