Many people watch horse racing every single day. It is a thrilling sport with plenty of action and adrenaline, not to mention that it is possible to have your fortunes take a turn for the worst in a matter of seconds. Horse racing is a sport that has roots in both tradition and history. It has been played since very ancient times and it is still very popular amongst royalty today. It was once dubbed as being the sport of kings, and the stunning spectacle has a long history. The journey from its origin to the modern day has been a long one, but it is certainly interesting at the same time.

Early History

Of course, if you look at the early history of betting on horses compared to what is available now, you will soon see that it has come very far. Horse racing is quite possibly one of the oldest sporting activities in the world. It originated in Middle Asia and then spread to various other countries. From there, it grew in popularity and it became a very common sport in the Roman Empire as well. It then changed to Europe, around the 1750s. The very first documentation of racing can be traced all the way back to the PanHellenic games. Ancient Greeks used to hold these games around 648 BC. To begin with, they were only popular to the wealthy because of the very high cost that was involved with breeding the horses. Horse racing was also a men’s sport, and women were not allowed to participate as trainers or jockeys on horses.

Evolution of Racing

Over the years, it would seem that horse racing has evolved into many different forms. The most popular form would be flat racing. In flat racing, horses would gallop between two different points. This would be between a straight track or an oval track and the aim of the game was for them to win. They would then have to do jumps or even steeplechasing. Harness racing involved the horse pulling the drier in a very lightweight cart. Endurance racing was when horses had to run up to 160km across a country track.

Witnessing Changes

This equestrian sport has been able to witness some very dramatic changes over the years and horse racing has shifted quite significantly. One of the major changes that has happened so far would be how accessible horse racing is. This was truly a sporting event for the affluent but now the interest is far more diverse. Anyone can watch and bet, regardless of their social class or their gender. This is fantastic to say the least and it just goes to show how far things have come over the years. It also goes to show that horse racing is now far more accepting as a sport compared to a lot of worldwide athletic events. Of course, horse racing has truly stood the test of time, and it’ll be interesting to see where things go from here.