From Track to Trench: Civil War on the Turf

The First Pastime: Horse Racing in the Early 1800s

previous activity

next activity

A Race Meeting at Jacksonville, Alabama (Proper), W. S. Hedges, British, 1831 - 1847, Birmingham Museum of Art

Thoroughbred horse racing is the oldest sport in America and one of the oldest sports in the world. It has been practiced continuously in some form or another since ancient times, with chariot racing being one of the most widespread sports in Ancient Rome over two thousand years ago.

Horse racing was one of the most popular sports in Europe by the time early American settlers began settling in North America. Great British race tracks attracted thousands of spectators and commanded the country’s attention. It was natural that when Britons and other Europeans came to America, they wanted to bring their beloved sport with them.

American horse racing traces its roots back to the 17th century, when the first racetrack in North America opened on Long Island in 1665. The Newmarket Race Course took its name from one of England’s most prominent racetracks. It no longer exists today, but when it first opened its doors over 350 years ago, it was the first sporting venue of any kind in what would eventually become the United States.

Before Newmarket, the island of Manhattan was controlled by the Dutch. British colonists, backed by the powerful Royal Navy, were able to wrest control of Manhattan from them. The colonial governor of New York, Richard Nicolls, wanted to create something that brought the island’s Dutch and British communities together. The result was a racetrack where both sides could enjoy a European sport they had in common

The Newmarket Race Course on Long Island was the first sporting venue of any kind in the American colonies, and began a longstanding tradition of athletic competition in what would eventually become the United States. This silver porringer from the Museum’s collection is a replica of the original silver porringer awarded to the first ever winner at the Newmarket Race Course. It represents the first trophy ever awarded in American horse racing, and the first trophy ever awarded in any American sport.
At first, Americans reused trophies from British races as trophies for their races. This is a trophy from a race in England that was then repurposed as a trophy for an American horse race. At the time, American colonists mostly saw themselves as British, and American racing inherited a lot of traditions from British racing. Even the word “derby” refers to a prominent British lord. It wasn’t until the American Revolution when anti-British sentiment led to Americans splitting away from their English counterparts and developing their own traditions and trophies. In fact, the War of 1812 is credited with helping to jumpstart the American breeding industry. Before then, most high-end thoroughbreds were imported from Europe. With another spike in anti-British feeling among Americans as a result of the war, there was a renewed push to distance themselves from Europe. New trade embargoes forced America to develop its own breeding industry, which led to the first crop of American-born thoroughbred racehorses.
The racehorse Boston was foaled in Richmond, Virginia in 1833 by John Wickham, an attorney. Boston was considered a great racehorse, winning 40 of 45 starts, 30 of which were 4-mile races. He sired many successful racehorses, and was America's leading sire for three years. Boston helped to establish America’s racing pedigree and thoroughbred stock. He also reflected the dominance of the American South in horse racing at the time. Before the Civil War, most racetracks and thoroughbred facilities were located in the South. This was a consequence of the South’s warmer climate, larger plantations, and immense agricultural wealth which naturally led to the development of equine breeding facilities in the region. While horse racing was undoubtedly a national sport, the South was the undisputed king of that sport, and tensions between the two sides often played out via rivalries on the racetrack.
Boston's most famous offspring was the horse Lexington. Originally named Darley, he was renamed Lexington because he was sent to represent Kentucky in a “great state race” held in New Orleans in 1854. Before the Civil War, many Americans felt more attachment to their states than to the federal government, and interstate rivalries were not uncommon. Attachments to individual states before the United States as a whole was a contributing factor to the escalating situation that would eventually become the Civil War, and Lexington’s participation in the great state race was just one example of how those feelings played out before the war began. During his career, Lexington was a very successful racehorse, having won 6 of his 7 starts and setting the record for the fastest four miles, a highly coveted record at the time. In the mid-1800s, horse racing in America was more a test of endurance than speed, and four mile heats were quite common. Following the end of his racing career, Lexington was bought by Robert A. Alexander for $15,000, the highest price ever at the time for a horse. He then was taken to Alexander's breeding farm where he sired over 200 winning racehorses and was named America's leading sire for 16 years. Lexington helped to establish much of America’s thoroughbred stock during and after the Civil War.
This horseshoe in the Museum's collection was worn by Lexington during his famous "race against time" in 1855. During this era, races were much longer than they are today. The longest races were up to 4 miles long, and it was best two out of three, so a horse could possibly have to run up to 12 miles in a single day. For comparison, the longest American race today is just 1.5 miles long. Jockeys and horses were prized for their incredible stamina more than their raw speed, and Lexington was one of the best of his day.

Lexington's prominence and celebrity status reflected racing's position as America's most beloved sport throughout the 1800s. Horse racing back then retained the popularity that American football does today. Every major city in America had a racetrack, with particularly large cities hosting multiple tracks. Even relatively minor cities could have a racetrack of their own. Dozens of horse racing periodicals were circulated across the nation, and track attendance was consistently high. The biggest sporting events in the American popular consciousness at the time were horse races. This massive public attention made popular racehorses like Lexington a household name. Journalists reported on Lexington’s every move, and he was hounded by photographers for much of his life.

The ubiquitous nature of horse racing in America during the 1800s meant that many of the country’s most prominent names had ties to the sport. It also meant that the sport and the nation were inextricably linked, and their paths largely mirrored each other. Political tensions were played out on the racetrack. Match races were held between Northern horses and Southern horses in a battle for prestige and political points. And, just like America itself, horse racing was marred by its affiliations with slavery and use of slave labor and jockeys. American history was racing history, and vice-versa.

Pictured above is Dr. Elisha Warfield, a prominent Kentucky horse breeder. He bred many thoroughbreds, including future Hall of Famer, Lexington. Dr. Warfield was involved in the creation of the Lexington Jockey Club and Kentucky Association, the latter of which regulated thoroughbred racing and breeding. The Kentucky Association was the first turf association and was responsible for building the second enclosed racetrack in America. There were very few standardized systems or rules in place for racing during the 1800s, but organizations like The Kentucky Association and people like Warfield helped to bring some sense of stability and consistency to a sport that could vary wildly depending on state lines. America itself was not as centralized as it is today. Individual states could exercise enormous power and influence with very little oversight, which led to a hodgepodge of rules for horse racing throughout the country. This aspect of the American political system would lend credence to the idea that individual states were free to secede from the Union at any time they wanted.
Kentucky was the epicenter of horse racing and breeding in the 1800s. Above is a list of stallions and their stud fees at Woodburn Stud Farm from the year 1866. Owners of mares could pay the fee and then breed their horse with the stallion of their choosing. By 1866, Lexington had been named America's leading sire 5 years in a row, which is why his stud fee is considerably higher than the other three stallions. Kentucky was a slave state at the time, but chose to remain with the Union when hostilities broke out. This decision, and Kentucky's placement as a border state, made it a battleground during the war and a target for Northern and Southern raiders. In fact, the Woodburn stud farm itself was raided multiple times during the war, and Lexington was nearly stolen at least twice. Prized thoroughbreds were useful warhorses, and became tempting targets. Kentucky would go on to play a crucial role over the course of the war, with Abraham Lincoln himself saying, "I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky."