Horse Racing in Britain and Ireland
By Anne Holland
()
About this ebook
Anne Holland
Anne Holland was a successful amateur rider who once rode at Aintree on Grand National day. She has written many books on horse-racing including Steeplechasing: A Celebration, The Grand National: The Irish At Aintree and All in the Blood.
Read more from Anne Holland
Arkle: The Legend of 'Himself' Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Little Book of Horse Racing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Secret of Kit Cavenaugh Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFestival Fever: The Irish at Cheltenham Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Horse Racing in Britain and Ireland
Titles in the series (100)
The English Seaside in Victorian and Edwardian Times Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBritish Campaign Medals 1914-2005 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Church Misericords and Bench Ends Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Perambulators Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVW Camper and Microbus Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Buckles Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Buttons Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Poole Pottery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRoyal Jubilees Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPeat and Peat Cutting Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lorries: 1890s to 1970s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tractors: 1880s to 1980s Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Victorians and Edwardians at Play Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Victorians and Edwardians at Work Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chocolate: The British Chocolate Industry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBritain's Working Coast in Victorian and Edwardian Times Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBritish Campaign Medals 1815-1914 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClarice Cliff Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBritish Gallantry Awards 1855-2000 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5British Railway Tickets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAirfix Kits Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scalextric Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLondon Plaques Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Women’s Suffrage Movement Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Duels and Duelling Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5London’s Statues and Monuments Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5British Postcards of the First World War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Building Toys: Bayko and other systems Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Meccano Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTraditional Building Materials Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related ebooks
Hidden History of Horse Racing in Kentucky Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMr. Darley's Arabian Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings101 Interesting Facts on the History of Horse Racing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShergar. Kidnapping Ireland's Favourite Son.: Unsolved Horse Mysteries, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNever Say Die: A Kentucky Colt, the Epsom Derby, and the Rise of the Modern Thoroughbred Industry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYou Bet Your Life: My Incredible Adventures in Horse Racing and Offshore Betting Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKeeneland Winning Trainer Patterns: 2011 Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSaratoga Race Course: The August Place to Be Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSandsablaze: Grand Prix Greatness from Harrisburg to the Olympics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKentucky Handicap Horse Racing: A History of the Great Weight Carriers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBred To Run: The Making of a Thoroughbred Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Horse Racing - Containing Information on Stabling, Training, Breeding and Other Aspects of Race Horse Preparation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBullet Work Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Fine Place to Daydream: Racehorses, Romance, and the Irish Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Belmont Park: The Championship Track Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDancer's Image: The Forgotten Story of the 1968 Kentucky Derby Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Horse Sense and Nonsense: A Survival Guide for Horse Lovers Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Horseracing and the British, 1919–39 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStarting Baby Jaz: A Young Horse's Journey from Halter to Saddle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCelebrating a Century of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe: The History of Europe's Greatest Horse Race Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSecond-Chance Horses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAdvanced English Riding Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCañonero II: The Rags to Riches Story of the Kentucky Derby's Most Improbable Winner Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Foinavon: The Story of the Grand National’s Biggest Upset Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHorseplayers: Life at the Track Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Form: My Autobiography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Handicap Quarter Horse Racing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Journey with Thoroughbreds: A History of Thoroughbreds in Jamaica Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWarriors on Horseback: The Inside Story of the Professional Jockey Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Wild Horse Annie: Velma Johnston and Her Fight to Save the Mustang Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Social History For You
Slaves in the Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Library Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A People's History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stories of Rootworkers & Hoodoo in the Mid-South Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 2]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Whore Stories: A Revealing History of the World's Oldest Profession Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Cliterate: Why Orgasm Equality Matters--And How to Get It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bowling Alone: Revised and Updated: The Collapse and Revival of American Community Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Untold History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got that Way Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Humans: A Brief History of How We F*cked It All Up Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5made in america: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Miami Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Defining Moments in Black History: Reading Between the Lies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Horse Racing in Britain and Ireland
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Horse Racing in Britain and Ireland - Anne Holland
Caesarea.
FLAT RACING
OLYMPIA IN ANCIENT G REECE is said to be the sanctuary of Zeus; today there remain statues, busts and ruins, as well as an incredible aura. The hippodrome, for horse and chariot racing, is long gone, but is believed to have been situated alongside the athletics stadium, which still stands. The hippodrome is thought to have been some 1,552 metres long (six ‘stades’) by 64 metres wide. The horses ran in races ranging in length between three to twelve circuits, and horse races and chariot races were included in the Olympic Games from 776 BC until the Games were abolished in about AD 393. The sense of wonder pervades: is this where it all started – this wonderful sport that we know as the Sport of Kings?
It was the Romans who brought horse racing to Britain, and to Yorkshire in particular, where the first recorded meeting was held at Netherby in about AD 210. Racing at that time was held in such high esteem that York citizens who wished to improve their social status used to give cash to meetings; the Greek Olympiads also relied to an extent on gifts of money, so sponsorship is far from new in the sport.
English kings have long played a part. King Athelstan (reigned 927–39) received a present of ‘running horses’ from France by a man called Hugh because he wanted to marry the king’s sister, Ethelswitha. Henry II (reigned 1154–89) described races at ‘Smoothfield’ (Smithfield) in which ‘jockies, inspired with thoughts of applause and in the hope of victory, clap spurs to the willing horses, brandish their whips and cheer them with their cries’.
Greek vase depicting a chariot race, c. 5th–6th century BC. Musée Municipal Antoine Vivenel, Compiègne, France.
Edward III (r. 1327–77) received two running horses from the King of Navarre, and, just before Edward’s death, his grandson, soon to become Richard II, raced against the Earl of Arundel. It was a match race (with two competitors only) as racing was generally to remain for a few more centuries yet.
The first fully established English racecourse was founded on what is known as the Roodee, Chester, inside the city walls in 1540 during Henry VIII’s reign, and it remains one of the most attractive of courses. York established its permanent course on the Knavesmire, outside the city walls, not far from the York Tyburn gallows. Courses began to spring up all over the country and races took place at many fairs and markets.
Flying Dutchman winning from Voltigeur at York, 13 May 1851. He came from the Darley Arabian Sire line: King Fergus Branch. Flying Dutchman was a talented horse of the highest class. Run over two miles, this match was billed as the ‘Match of the Century’.
James I discovered that the heath around the new market near Exning was ideal for coursing and hawking. It was there on 8 March 1622 that, as an added diversion, Lord Salisbury and the Marquess of Buckingham matched their horses for £100, so founding Newmarket racecourse. During James’s reign handicapping first came about – the system of allocating different weights to be carried by horses according to past performances. The system was designed to give all horses an equal chance of winning so that, in theory, they should finish in line abreast. Charles I continued the racing there but it was Charles II who really turned Newmarket into racing’s headquarters.
In 1711 Queen Anne founded Ascot and put up a Queen’s Plate, having come across a suitable place on the heath while following the royal buckhounds in her chaise. George IV was a great patron of the turf and won the Derby at Epsom in 1788, when he was Prince of Wales. Queen Victoria did not go racing but she kept the fine Royal Stud at Hampton Court, and