The Great Rulers of Egypt oversaw horse races between their own and other horses in grand style beneath the Pyramids with large quantities of gold changing hands, whilst on the Mongolian steppes regular meetings every year at horse fairs and tribal gatherings provided nomads with entertainment, the chance to gamble and importantly, to decide which were the best horses to breed from.

Ever since horses have been tamed and used by man there have been competitions to discover which one was fastest, best or strongest, and often all three. These competitions usually turned into spectator events, with the accompanying hawkers, traders and drink sellers doing brisk business, not only in their own trades but also by making a 'book' on the racing horses.

In Britain the first organised horse races are thought to have been organised by Roman soldiers in around 200BC, although the first properly recorded racing took place to the north of London in Smithfield during a horse fair in 1174.

Many races took place at English horse fairs during the Middle-Ages of English history, usually as a wager between the horse owners, with spectators making bets between each other, with some of the richer men taking many bets on a single race.

The first known trophy to be awarded for a horse race was in 1512 in Chester. As horse racing became more popular horses were kept and bred especially for the sport, but it was not until the 17th and 18th centuries that 'thorough bred' horses as we know them evolved from new breeding practices.

Newmarket in Suffolk became known as the home of English horse racing, mainly due to the heavy patronage of James I. Cromwell banned all horse racing partly because of the large amount of betting involved, but after the restoration in 1664 horse racing was encouraged, and Charles II even wrote the rules for the Newmarket Town Plate himself.

Horse racing continued to flourish, to the extent that Parliament sought to control some of its excesses. However in 1752 the Jockey Club was formed as a governing body of the sport. It made and applied the Rules of Racing, and does so to this day.

Gambling on horse races is just as popular today all over the world as it was hundreds of years ago, and with the advent of media technology and the internet is unlikely to loose its appeal to sportsman and gambler alike.

SEO Solutions and one way link
publicity services provided by LinkAcquire.

David C Skul - CEO
LinkAcquire.com and Relativity, Inc. can provide
global market exposure and solutions