Editing Horse racing in Great Britain (section)

===16th Century===
Records become more substantial during the time of [[Henry VIII]]. He passed a number of laws relating to the breeding of horses{{sfn|Whyte|1840|pp=22–26}} and also [[import]]ed a large number of [[Stallion (horse)|stallions]] and [[Mare (horse)|mares]] for [[breed]]ing from Spain, Italy and the East. He kept a training establishment at [[Greenwich]] and the stud at [[Eltham]].<ref name="Waterman-p. 71" /> and founded the Royal Paddock at [[Hampton Court]], where he kept mares and a "Barb worth his weight in silver", which has been given to him by the [[Marquis of Mantua]].{{sfn|Cawthorne|Herod|1902|p=3}}

Formal race meetings began to be instigated too. It is believed that the first occurrence of a [[trophy]] being presented to the winner of a race was in 1512 by organisers of a fair in [[Chester]]{{sfn|Cawthorne|Herod|1902|p=3}} and was a small wooden ball decorated with [[flower]]s. Meanwhile, the oldest horse race still in existence, the [[Kiplingcotes Derby]] was first run in 1519. The [[Carlisle Bell]]s, reputedly the oldest sporting trophy in the world, were first competed for in the 16th century, in a race that still bears their name.  One of the bells is inscribed "The sweftes horse thes bel tak" ("The swiftest horse takes this bell").<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.carlisle-races.co.uk/bellplateday.asp |title=Bell and Plate Day |publisher=[[Carlisle Racecourse]] |access-date=22 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425003448/http://www.carlisle-races.co.uk/bellplateday.asp |archive-date=25 April 2013 }}</ref>

Racing was firmly established at [[Chester Racecourse|Chester]], the oldest surviving racecourse in England, by 1540.{{sfn|Barrett|1995|p=8}} By the time of [[Elizabeth I|Elizabeth]], the sport was a "common amusement",{{sfn|Cawthorne|Herod|1902|p=3}} and the Queen herself is recorded as attending races on [[Salisbury Plain]] in the 1580s,{{sfn|Barrett|1995|p=8}} as well as keeping up the paddocks at Hampton and founding her own at [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]].{{sfn|Cawthorne|Herod|1902|p=3}} Racing in the [[Forest of Galtres]] dates to 1590,{{sfn|Cawthorne|Herod|1902|p=8}} [[Leith Races]] were established by 1591, and at [[Doncaster Racecourse|Doncaster]] by 1595.{{sfn|Barrett|1995|p=8}}