In this guide, you will be introduced to the different varieties of horse racing, some betting terms and a guide on how to place an informed bet with William Hill. To be eligible to race now, racehorses must have a full, comprehensive thoroughbred pedigree and a passport, issued by Weatherbys. Every racehorse today is descended from these animals the ‘Founding Fathers’ of the breed. These horses were the Byerly Turk, the Godolphin Arabian and the Darley Arabian.
In the United Kingdom, horse racing became more formalised as the racehorse itself became more defined: people began breeding horses selectively for speed in the 17th and 18th centuries, creating what we now know as the Thoroughbred by using the bloodlines of horses from overseas. In history, where there were horses, there was horse sport and nearly always horse racing. Horses have been raced since as early as the age of the ancient Roman and Greek Civilisations, when Chariot racing was popular.
