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HORSE RACING
The Ancients had chariot races, the Romans raced riderless
horses, but real horse-racing had its inception in England, race
meetings were already held, records show, at Smithfield, in1174.
Henry VIII arranged for the first racing at Chester; James I
built a course at Newmarket in 1607 and during his reign the
three ancestors of all thoroughbreds; Byerley Turk, Darley
Arabian and Godolphin Arabian were imported from Arabia.
Charles I gave a cup to be raced for in Hyde Park. Charles II
instituted Autumn meetings at Newmarket and occasionally rode
in races there. Royal Ascot dates from the time of Queen
Anne, the first meeting being held on August 11th, 1711.
The Doncaster St. Leger, so called after Colonel St. Leger,
was first run in 1776. Three years later the 12th Earl of
Derby inaugurated the Oaks, named after his seat, " The
Oaks ", and the following year the same nobleman founded
the world's greatest classic, "The Derby", run for the first
time over a mile on May 4th, 1780, worth £1,100; the race
was won by "Diomed," who was later sent to America.
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