A History of Horse Racing, Part III Into the Colonies and America Here you will find the story of thoroughbred racing as the United States formally separated from England while the sport continued to reach into the Bluegrass. Although quarter horse racing--two horses running full speed for a quarter mile--and harness racing began their development in America as early 1665, thoroughbred racing did not exist in America until Oliver Cromwell's government (see Part I) forced Royalists and Cavaliers out of England. These families, with their wealth, customs and traditions, settled in Virginia, Maryland and South Carolina; they also enslaved Africans, whose knowledge of hot-blooded horses far exceeded that of their masters. In 1730, Bulle Rock, then a 21-year old of the Darley Arabian (see Part II), became the first true thoroughbred brought to America. Other colonists were involved over the years, including George Washington, who managed a track in Alexandria, Virginia and trained horses at Mount Vernon both before and after the American Revolution. But pedigree record keeping was shoddy in the South, and as debts to England for all colonists continued to escalate leading up to the Revolution, Northern colonial congresses urged the prohibition of all forms of extravagance, especially horse racing. Southerners refused, arguing that racing was a way of life, and an excellent preparation for a war that would erase all their foreign debts. Unfortunately, the Revolution and military effort depleted the thoroughbred stock, and after the war thoroughbred breeding had to begin all over again. The Birth of the Origin of the Kentucky Derby It was during the Revolutionary War, however, that Englishmen developed "the Darby." In September 1776, British race-goers witnessed a race called the St. Leger, named after an army officer. The race was an end of season, winner-take-all sweepstakes, limited to three year old colts and fillies. In 1778, Edward Stanley, twelfth Earl of Derby, suggested a mile and a half race for fillies called the Oaks, named after his country retreat near Epsom and run for the first time in June 1779. The success of this race led to plans for a similar race at Epsom, run in the spring of 1780 as a mile and then a mile and a half in 1784. As legend has it, a senior Jockey Club member named Sir Charles Bunbury and Lord Derby set the terms of the race, and agreed that the event should be named for one of them. Needless to say, Lord Derby won that coin toss, but it was Bunbury's horse Diomed (see Part II) that won the first Epsom Derby. Ironically, it would be a thoroughbred with Diomed blood that would win the first Kentucky Derby ninety-six years later. No one in the colonies paid much attention, of course, but after the Revolutionary War, Kentucky was opened to immigrants and colonists alike. By 1785, pioneer wagons were pouring through the Cumberland Gap (see Part II), and flatboats were bringing settlers to the Kentucky shoreline along the Ohio River. The Bluegrass region was very amenable to breeding thoroughbreds, and Lexington and Louisville were even more amenable to racing. "In Kentucky, racing flourished as never before." Cocktails with the Sport of Kings | The Arrival of Thoroughbreds | Into the Colonies and America Foundations: Bluegrass and Lexington | The Move to Louisville Churchill's Colonel | Derby Growing Pains | The Legacy of Matt Winn | The Home Stretch: Into Modern Times