American Thoroughbred Horse

Intro

The first Thoroughbred horse imported to the American colonies was Bulle Rock in 1730. From that point the colonies began a grand love affair with horse racing and its robust athletes.

Origins

The Thoroughbred was originally established during the 17th century in England and has since been independently developed in several different countries worldwide. Upon their arrival in America, the colonists quickly began developing their own breeding programs, importing more English animals and breeding them with local stock (likely of Iberian ancestry).

Late in the 18th century two important stallions were imported to America. Messenger (father of the American Standardbred) and Diomed who’s son (Sir Archy) had a significant impact on the American Thoroughbred. Sir Archy was eventually retired from racing for lack of suitable opponents.

After the Wars

After the Revolutionary war, the center of Thoroughbred breeding began to move west to Kentucky and Tennessee. After the Civil War, racing formats in America began to change from long races to shorter ones. This meant a change in breeding practices to produce animals better at shorter distances. It was during this time that American Thoroughbreds made their way back to Britain for racing.

These breeding practices continued into the 20th century. However, after WWI the US saw in influx of English Thoroughbreds again. After WWII ended the center of Thoroughbred breeding was on the move again. It didn’t leave Kentucky, but a strong racing culture also emerged in California, New York and Florida.