One of the oldest sports known to mankind is horse racing. This extremely popular sport has its origins as far back as 638 BC and has been a thriving, organised sport ever since.

Horse racing really came into its own when in the 12th century English horses were bred with Arabian horses. This breeding programme produced sturdy horses that had amazing speed. It was around this time that a more modern version of racing began with racecourses opening and rules and standards established.

King Charles II was well known for having horse racing on open fields and on courses with the winner always having a prize. It is thought that the first horse racing meetings were held at Newmarket.

Horse racing changed during the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714), the races involved several horses and racing spectators could bet on their favourite horses. It was, at this time, that Queen Anne founded the famous Ascot course and horse racing became a professional sport.

In 1750 the Jockey Club was formed at Newmarket where the “elite” of the horse racing circles met. The club controlled racing and the rules made then are still in force today.

There were concerns regarding the breeding and registration of race horses and a gentleman called James Weatherby was given the job of tracing the history of all race horses. Steps were then taken to control and regulate the breeding. All foals born to a race horse now had to be recorded in the General Stud Book. This book was first published in 1793.

It was in the year 1866 that the National Hunt Committee was formed. In 1993 the British Horseracing Board became the governing authority for horse racing.

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