Horse racing is the oldest organized sport in the United States and one of the oldest in the world. It has carried us over a series of rapid-fire societal changes, and thrusts us into the future while still giving us a look back into our past.
As we approach the landmark 150th running of the historic Kentucky Derby 2024, let’s take a look at how the culture of horse racing in the United States has evolved over the years.
Spectators
Horse racing has always been unique in that spectators can choose to actively participate in the sport via betting. The bettors may not be physically powering down the track or slashing whips, but they can stand to gain just about as much from a victory as an acknowledged winner- and of course, many often exert themselves by cheering along their selected horse!
At the time of the inaugural running of the Kentucky Derby, how a racing spectator was viewed was highly dependent upon a person’s social class. For most, attending the races was seen mostly as a way to try and get a quick buck- and often a less-than-honest one. Gambling among the lower classes was seen as tolerable, but only just, and was in fact banned outright in many states in the early part of the twentieth century.
If you were fortunate enough to be wealthy, attending the races was a way to see and be seen. The luxury boxes at America’s biggest tracks were often a Who’s Who of the upper crust. Betting with a bookmaker, as was most common in those days, was for degenerates, but a well-to-do man would often make a personal “gentleman’s agreement” with another of his class when predicting the outcome of a particular race. Ladies were also often on display at the races, wearing their finest gowns and hats.
Nowadays, while luxury boxes and fine racing fashion still exist, the tracks generally cater more to the everyman. Betting via a parimutuel system helped to reduce corruption in the gambling arm of the industry, and that in turn elevated the status of the sport and provided a more equal playing field for punters.
Owners
In 1875, people owned racehorses as a hobby and for bragging rights- wealthy men with time and money on their hands who wanted to say they could create the fastest horses. Commercial breeding was exceedingly uncommon at the time, and while breeders would sell young horses at auction, most chose to retain their most promising horses and race the lot themselves.
A fabulous horse could earn an owner a lot of money, but often it was the prestige that was most valuable, and while most Americans used horses in their day-to-day lives for work and travel, registered Thoroughbreds were generally priced out of most peoples’ range.
Nowadays, however, many people own racehorses outright or in partnership with others. Well-bred weanlings, yearlings, and two-year-olds are sold via public auction to racing groups all over the world, and many breeders do not retain any horses to race on their own.
If people cannot fork over hundreds of thousands for these unproven young horses, they can “claim” a lower-performing horse who runs in a claiming race- that is, a race especially designed to sell its contestants. People can also choose to own micro shares of horses through groups such as Myracehorse.com or Edge Racing, and share a horse with 100+ others for a relatively inexpensive price.
Trainers
In the 1870s, it was not uncommon for owners to train their own horses, which was in keeping with the idea that a hobby such as horse racing was better handled by amateurs guided by love and a desire to improve the horse, rather than a professional driven by money.
Those who did hire others to train their horses generally kept one trainer for their entire operation, and that trainer was often exclusively dedicated to that owner. Trainers worked behind the scenes for their charges, and it wasn’t until the middle of the twentieth century approached that many of them found their way into the spotlight.
Training methods that were commonplace at the time would be considered cruel today- horses were raced more often, whipped and spurred mercilessly, and forced to exercise in hot, heavy blankets.
Nowadays, the best trainers are viewed as sporting celebrities. Their names are more publicly connected to the horses than the owners and breeders are, and they receive much praise and attention for their charges’ successes. However, if their horses fail to perform or become injured, the trainer’s methods and even their character are harshly criticized. Trainers such as Jason Servis can also receive punishments and even jail time should their practices devolve into animal cruelty.
Jockeys
Many prominent jockeys of the late nineteenth century were formerly enslaved Black men, but this began to change when racism erupted due to Jim Crow and Black jockeys were largely forced out of the sport.
The job was dangerous and there was little in the way of protective equipment for jockeys to use. Instead, the focus was on keeping the jockey as light as possible. Because maladies such as disordered eating were not well understood, many jockeys weakened themselves by starving, thus making their tasks more perilous.
Nowadays, jockeys have lots of protective equipment at their disposal, and catastrophic accidents to jockeys have decreased massively over the last one hundred years. Jockeys still tend to be small, but better knowledge about nutrition lets them make weight in a safer manner. Jockeys come from all races of people, and an increasing number of new jockeys are women- something unthinkable when the first Kentucky Derby was run.