Today’s Triple Crown and Preakness Stakes are a far cry from America’s first horse races. When and how did horse racing come about?

In the late 1600s, just as slavery and tobacco were making many people in the Southern states of America rich, a leisure class began to emerge. This leisure class, like many before and after it, had plenty of time and money to spend on amusing pursuits.

The Southern wealthy had a thing for European aristocracy, and liked to imitate it. Since the European aristocracy had taken up horse racing, it made sense that the Virginia plantation owners would follow suit and do the same. Horse racing was indeed a sport for the rich; as a matter of fact, rules prohibited the common laborer enjoying the sport, saying horse racing was “a sport only for Gentlemen.”

The first horse races in America were run on short, straight tracks, often right through the centers of Southern towns. Why right through the middle of town? Well, this was often the only place where a straight and level stretch of road could be found. But don’t think the townspeople minded it. A good horse race brought people together and induced a party-like atmosphere. Bets were wagered and stakes were sometimes high.

The first real racetracks were called quarter-paths, and were a quarter mile long. In Maryland and Virginia a single quarter-path race could net the winner as much as $40,000 in gold, silver, tobacco, and cloth. That’s an immense amount of money today, so just imagine what it represented hundreds of years ago. It’s no wonder that people began to breed horses just to win races. The first race horses were bred to stand 13 to 14 hands high, with strong rears for quick starts. Known as “Quarter-Pathers,” these horses were the ancestors to today’s modern Quarter Horse breed.

Aristocrats started importing English racehorses to American in the mid to late 1700s. The Darley Arabian, the Byerly Turk, and the Godolphin Arabian were consistent European winners whose progeny was eventually imported to this country. The horses brought to this country were bred with local stock to produce faster racehorses, and contributed to what we call the Thoroughbred breed today. Stockier, shorter horses who were known for their endurance and fast starts were replaced with leaner, taller, leggier horses who could cover ground as quickly as anyone had seen. As this type of horse became more fashionable for racing, other horses that had been known for racing—the Quarter Horse and the Morgan horse to name just two—were relegated to other areas like the farm and the show ring. It’s interesting to note that while the Quarter Horse was America’s first race horse, it is best known today for its work on the Western frontier.

While the Triple Crown may be quite different than a race through town, the two do have some similarities. Horse racing still draws a crowd, and the stakes are always high!