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UK Horse Racing Through The Years
The UK cannot claim credit for the invention of horse racing
since it dates back as far as the time of Ancient Greece.
However, modern day horse racing is said to have been developed
in the UK with the introduction of the Arabian thoroughbreds
that were brought back to the country in the 12th century after
the Crusades. This was when horse racing started making waves in
the UK. While horse racing was introduced to the country at that
early era, it did not really become that popular until a few
centuries later when race tracks and courses were established
and formal rules were formed.
The Classic races started with the St. Leger, the Oaks, the
Derby, the 2,000 Guineas and the 1,000 Guineas. These races made
up the racing season called the English Classic. Since these
races were held in different venues, a couple in Epsom and some
in Newmarket, they started off as regional competitions. These
competitions rarely saw horses from different regions competing
against each other due to the considerations that had to be
given to the horses. These were due to the tiredness the horses
would be experiencing on the travel to and from these venues.
This trend continued until someone came up with the idea of
having the thoroughbreds ride their own coaches pulled by other
horses to their next race to help keep them in winning form.
These races were usually between two horses and were often races
that were previously matched up. The deciding factor of these
races, which had the horses running over a track that ran four
to five miles, is the victory of one horse over the other twice.
This means that a horse can only be declared the winner when he
defeats his opponent twice on that track. These races were often
taken part by nobles and betting was not yet formalized then.
Wagers were made by the people who watched among themselves. The
most famous of these old races which still exists to this day is
probably the race called “Queen Anne Stakes”. These races were
the opening races of the yearly racing season of the Royal Ascot
and were only recently elevated to a Group One status. The
Coventry Stakes now takes the honour of being the first race of
the Royal Ascot, being run on the first day.
These days, UK Horse Racing is controlled by a governing body
that enforces the rules of the sport. The Jockey Club along with
the BHC or British Horseracing Board and the British National
Hunt Committee foresee the events and the needs of these races
as well as the rules that need to be imposed. The major races
are scheduled to be run in different areas during different
times of the year from March till December. The main horse
racing season in the UK, also called the main meetings, starts
with Cheltenham in March and in Chepstow in December. These
races go to and from any of these venues, with Newmarket having
the most number of main meetings being held in the area.
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