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My England Travel Guide |
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Horse Racing In England
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| Horse Racing In England Horse racing in Great Britain is a popular sport, however more popular than that is the gambling on horse races by audiences. Betting on horse races, accounts for a bulk of the turnover of the betting industry in England. The two main forms of horse racing in Great Britain are known as flat racing which is an unobstructed flat distance race, and National Hunt racing which involves jumping over hurdles and obstacles throughout the race course. Professional horse racing, in Great Britain is regulated by a separate body known as the British Horseracing Authority. The Jockey The one who rides the horse is, of course, known as the Jockey and Great Britain has been home to some of the finest Jockeys in the sport including Sir Gordon Richards, considered by some as the best jockey in horse racing history. History Horse racing unofficially dates back to the days of the Roman Empire. However if we consider official records then it originates in the late 12th century somewhere in the middle of the reign of King Henry II. Incidentally the whole idea of breeding horses developed after the royalty strove to find better specimens for races as by then horse races had become a sport that was directly related to the pride and dignity of a Monarch. So in the early 16th century Henry the VIII imported a large breed of stallions for breeding. New market has historically been the most important ground for horse racing in England. In early 1654 Oliver Cromwell banned all forms of horse racing only for Charles II to restore it in its original form. In early 1740 the Parliament came down heavily on the excesses of horse racing and thus in 1752 the Jockey Club was formed to regulate the whole system of horse racing in the country, The jockey club eventually gave way to British Horseracing Board which was setup in 1993. As of today there are 60 licensed race courses for horseracing in England with a further 2 in Ireland which are run separately by Ireland itself. The sport continues to enjoy a top quality fan following and a consistent level of support from audiences and is definitely one of the more profitable sports in Great Britain.
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England Travel and UK Nationality Information
on this page is from my Stay in England UK from 2002 till 2009.