Settlers from Britain who brought horses and horse racing with them to the American New World, with the earliest race track laid out on Long Island as early as 1665. While the sport became a much acclaimed local activity, the progression of organized racing did not arrive until after the Civil War. (The American Stud Book was started in 1868.) For the next few decades, with the prompt rise of an industrial economy, betting on racehorses, and therefore horse racing itself, grew explosively; by 1890, 314 tracks were operational across the country.
The breakneck growth of the sport without any predominant governing authority led to the domination of countless tracks by criminal elements. In 1894 the nation's most respected track and stable owners met in New York to form an American Jockey Club, modelled on the English version, which soon ruled racing with an iron hand and eliminated much of the corruption.
In the early 1900s, however, racing in the United States was almost wiped out by antigambling feeling that led almost all states to ban bookmaking. By 1908 the number of tracks had plummeted to just 25. That same year, however, the installation of pari-mutuel betting for the Kentucky Derby signalled a reversal for the sport. More tracks opened as many and various state legislatures promised to sanction pari-mutuel betting in exchange for a percentage of the funds wagered. At the end of World War I, prosperity and great horses like Man o' War brought spectators flocking to horse racing tracks. The sport prospered until World War II, declined in popularity during the 1950s and 1960s, then enjoyed a resurgence in the 1970s triggered by the immense popularity of great horses such as Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed, each winners of the American Triple Crown--the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. During the late 1980s, another significant decline occurred, however.
Thoroughbred tracks exist in about half the states. Public engagement in the sport focuses primarily on major Thoroughbred races such as the American Triple Crown and the Breeder's Cup races (begun in 1984), which offer purses of up to about $1,000,000. State racing commissions have sole authority to license participants and administer racing dates, while sharing the appointment of racing officials and the supervision of racing rules with the Jockey Club. The Jockey Club retains authority over the breeding of Thoroughbreds.
Keith Driscoll is the owner of
Win2Win Racing, and has been a professional gambler for a number of years. The site includes free selections, advice, and an active forum.
