Louis XVI (reigned 1774–93) organized a jockey club and established rules of racing by royal decree that included requiring certificates of origin for horses and imposing extra weight on foreign horses. During the reign of Louis XIV (1643–1715), racing based on gambling was prevalent. In France the first documented horse race was held in 1651 as the result of a wager between two noblemen. The patronage of Charles II established Newmarket as the headquarters of English racing. The horses raced were six years old and carried 168 pounds (76 kg), and the winner was the first to win two 4-mile (6.4-km) heats. His articles for these races were the earliest national racing rules. Organized racingĬharles II (reigned 1660–85) became known as “the father of the English turf” and inaugurated the King’s Plates, races for which prizes were awarded to the winners. His successor, Charles I, had a stud of 139 horses when he died in 1649. In the 17th century James I sponsored meetings in England. In the 16th century Henry VIII imported horses from Italy and Spain (presumably Barbs) and established studs at several locations. During the reign of Richard the Lionheart (1189–99), the first known racing purse was offered, £40, for a race run over a 3-mile (4.8-km) course with knights as riders. Racing in medieval England began when horses for sale were ridden in competition by professional riders to display the horses’ speed to buyers. Such horses became familiar to Europeans during the Crusades (11th–13th century ce), from which they brought those horses back. Thence came too the Arabian, Barb, and Turk horses that contributed to the earliest European racing. Presumably, organized racing began in such countries as China, Persia, Arabia, and other countries of the Middle East and in North Africa, where horsemanship early became highly developed. The history of organized racing in other ancient civilizations is not very firmly established. Horse racing, both of chariots and of mounted riders, was a well-organized public entertainment in the Roman Empire. Both four-hitch chariot and mounted (bareback) races were held in the Olympic Games of Greece over the period 700–40 bce. Knowledge of the first horse race is lost in prehistory. What is the inner edge of an auto-racing track called? How long is the route of the Tour de France in kilometers? Whether you bike, jog, or drive, turn up the heat (in this heat), and see if you qualify as an encyclopedic athlete.

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