A History of Thoroughbred Racing in the U.S.

Thoroughbred horse racing in the U.S. started in the late 1600s when the first racetrack was established in Long Island, N.Y. Learn about how horse racing become more popular in the late 1800s with information from a former professional jockey in this free video on horse racing.

Thoroughbred horse racing then came to the United States in the later sixteen hundreds. When the first racetrack was established in Long Island, New York, and it was called New Market, that was the name of the racetrack, and is very close to the race track where Belmont Park stands today. Though New Market racetrack, the racing kind of fizzled out during the revolutionary and civil wars, horse racing became kind of dormant in North America and it wasn't until the later eighteen hundreds that it began to thrive again. And at that time, some pretty amazing racetracks were established, constructed, and still hosts some of the best American racing today. And just to list some of those racetracks that were built back in the eighteen hundreds, would be Churchhill Downs, that hosts the Kentucky Derby, Pinnacle Racehorse that hosts the pre quickness stakes, and Belmont racetrack that hosts the Belmont stakes. And then we also have Saratoga Racecourse, which is a very big part of American history, and racing along with the fairgrounds in New Orleans. So there's a bit of history to let you know about thoroughbred horse racing in America.