The American thoroughbred, by Charles E. Trevathan.

Abstract

In 1678 the plains of Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, and Illinois were peopled with great bands of horses descended from those landed by De Vaca and from wanderers of the Virginia stock. Bancroft's History of the lo The American Tboroiigbbred United States says that, in 1656, "the horse was multiplied in Virginia, and to improve that noble animal was an early object of pride favored by legislation. Speed was especially valued. " So when native stock is referred to in this way, it may be considered as native only so far back as that time when the Spaniards were landing on the lower coast.Getting back from the general horse of America to the especial type which is the subject of this article, the honor of having bred, reared, and developed a type of race-horse in America belongs to Virginia and Carolina. Almost up to theThe American Thoroughbred eral Washington as a judge at one of these Newmarket meetings before the Revolutionary War.At the same time there was in operation a course at Annapolis. The Church had even given recognition to racing as one of the harmless social delights of the higher class of Annapolis people.Outside Baltimore, also, existed another racecourse which had no name, but was known generally as the Maryland Course.There do not exist more than fragmentary records of the doings upon any of these tracks and one may not, with any degree of certainty, write of any incident upon them until after the period of the Revolution.By the time the first difficulty with England occurred, the scientific breeding of the race-horse had progressed so far that in all of the wealthy communities, from Carolina to Long Island, there were breeding studs where the very best type of animal for cavalry purposes existed. Much of the activity of the British during the winter months was given to the raiding of the farms in an effort to capture this much-desired property. It may be said with truth, however, that the production of the American race-horse had become a fact and his successful racing a public entertainment before the firstThe American Tborougbbred the year 1815, and the records of running which took place prior to that date are not always authentic. The people of New York, like those of the Southern states, indulged in the sport of racing before they even dreamed of going to war with Great Britain. But there was little or no organization, and the result of each contest was not officially recorded. " Frank Forrester," the first American author to attempt to give a continued history of the American turf, says: "To draw a parallel, as nearly as I can draw one, I regard the old Virginia turf prior to the fifteenth year, at least, of the nineteenth century as neither more nor less authentic than that of England up to the time of English Eclipse. From the day when the sons and daughters of imported Diomed and imported Messenger began to run upon the turfs of England and the tracks of America, all is plain and on record, so that who runs may read." " Frank Forrester," however, had not at the time of his writing all th...