Blooded Horses of Colonial Days: Classic Horse Matches in America Before the Revolution, Francis Barnum Culver, 1922.
Maryland was the birthplace of what we know as “American Thoroughbred Racing,” with bloodlines rooted in England and subsequently imported and bred in the colonies. Maryland was also home to the first formal racetracks and the first, and oldest organized sporting club, the “Maryland Jockey Club,” in America, pre-dating the Revolution by decades.
“Blooded Horses of Colonial Days” is not just an historical account of classic horse races in colonial Maryland and America, but an overarching portrayal of the blooded horses of that period and their importance and influence upon the social and sporting culture of Maryland and other colonies. Francis Culver outlines the culture that is the “blooded horse,” or thoroughbred including the breeding practices and traditions, training regimens, and of course, the racing.
Owned mostly by wealthy landowners and used as a symbol of status and prestige, these thoroughbreds would have a tremendous impact on social and economic growth of the upper-class, that would over time meld itself into general society and become part of the very character of Maryland, reaching its zenith with the second leg of the annual American Triple Crown, “The Preakness” in Baltimore.
A must read for anyone interested in the history of Thoroughbred racing in colonial Maryland and America.
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