What Makes a Horse a Thoroughbred?

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The Kentucky Derby May is the month for the Kentucky Derby. I always look forward to watching the race. I like to try to choose the winner, even though I’m not a gambler. The novel I published last year was a “Romance” novel, but the underlying story was about the raising and training of Thoroughbred race horses. I have always enjoyed horse racing since I was a child and my father would take me and my brothers to local horse races at County Fairs during the summer months. I actually know a LOT about Thoroughbred horses, because I have researched the breed. One thing that I wonder if most people know is that it took about 200 years to develop the Thoroughbred breed. All of today’s Thoroughbreds can trace their ancestry back to THREE Arabian foundation sires that were imported into Great Britain during the late 17th and early 18th century. The first sire was the Byerley Turk, who was named after the man who captured him, Captain Robert Byerley, who fought against the Turkish invaders in Hungary. This beautiful Arab horse was sent to stand in stud in England with a wide range of British racing mares. The Darley Arabian, the second of the three foundation sires was purchased by Thomas Darley, a British Consul in Aleppo. His progeny included Flying Childers and Eclipse, considered to be one of the greatest racehorses of all time. The third sire was the Godolphin Arabian, that was born in Yemen. When this horse was 9 years old, he became the property of Lord Godolphin and was sent to stud near Cambridge. These three foundation sires were bred with mares of mostly oriental blood and the records of pedigrees and performances were recorded down through the years, with the Thoroughbred becoming the fastest and most valuable breed in the world. Finally, many of these magnificent horses made their way to America and the American racing industry evolved within the famous breeding area of the Kentucky “blue grass” horses. You will be able to watch some of these Thoroughbred horses race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky in just a few days. The first Saturday of May is the scheduled day, May 6. So tune your TV in to this race and view the BEST 2-3 minutes of horse racing history. Even if you don’t like horse racing, this race is worth seeing.