Horse racing is a globally recognized event and in some countries it is even considered to be as popular as their major sporting events. In the US, horse racing is second to baseball—the national game of America—when it comes to attracting spectators. In 1989, about 56,194,565 spectators came to watch 8,004 days of horse racing, placing bets amounting to $9.14 billion. In other countries, such as Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, South America and Western Europe, horse racing are also held in high regard. In Australia, the Melbourne Cup, which is held annually in the first Tuesday of November, is said to bring the whole nation to a halt because of so many Aussies either going to the event or watching the races in their television sets. The prize money for the Melbourne Cup is a whopping $6 million. Singapore and Hong Kong also consider the sport as important as their other sporting events.
Horse racing began in ancient times when Babylonian kings held races in their kingdom. Archaeologists also discovered evidences of horse racing in Central Asia. It was in the years 1660 up to 1685 when King Charles II first introduced horse racing between two horses, which was called ‘match racing’. The races were held at Newmarket on private courses belonging to the king and the winner was given a reward by the king himself. But the start of professional horse racing events where spectators could place bets on the running horses, and where bookmakers came into existence, began during the time of Queen Anne (1702-1714). During Queen Anne’s reign, horse racing matches were changed from two horses competing to several horses gunning for the reward.
In 1750, those who were behind every horse racing event in Britain came together at Newmarket to come up with a way to regulate and govern all the race events. This is when they founded the Jockey Club, the first of which, that managed all the succeeding race events from there on.
Ever since horse racing events were regulated they started to attract attention from other countries. In the US, the first official horse racing events were held in Long Island, New York in 1665.
In Australia, records show that the first horse racing events were held in Hyde Park in 1810. Australia’s most famous horse race event is the Melbourne Cup, wherein a purse of $6 million is up for grabs by the winning horse. A bookmaker also profited from this racing event since scores of punters dole out millions for the pot. There is probably more to be won for the punters when the Melbourne Cup is on, which is why bookmakers also obtain huge profits during this time. Their most famous horse to have won the Melbourne Cup was Phar Lap who dominated other races in the nation.
Horse racing became a global sport and horses around the world are able to join any horse race event in other countries. An example of this is the horse Deep Impact, which was bred in Japan but was qualified to run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, which is a Group 1 flat race in France.
In Singapore, horse racing is also a revered sporting event. Their first official racing event was held in 1843, which was referred to as the ‘Singapore Cup’. Horse racing events in Singapore are held on the Kranji racecourse where it houses the Singapore Turf Club—the overall manager of the horse racing events there.
Hong Kong also holds horse racing events yearly from September to June/July. Two racecourses host horse racing events. The Happy Valley racecourse in Hong Kong island and the Sha Tin racecourse in the New Territories.
Punters can still place their bets on international horse race events by going through online bookmakers.
Monique Williams is a freelance writer and a horse racing fanatic. He has been writing about horse racing and Melbourne Cup—for more than three years. He resides in Melbourne, Australia where he occasionally writes reviews on Melbourne Cup betting and Horse Racing.
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