Editing Horse racing in Great Britain (section)

===17th century===
During Elizabeth's reign, interest in horse racing appears to have waned, for reasons unrecorded,{{sfn|Whyte|1840|p=29}} but this changed when in 1605, [[James VI and I|James I]] discovered the little village of [[Newmarket, Suffolk|Newmarket]] whilst out [[falconry|hawking]] or riding. He began to spend time there racing horses, and from then on it has been known as the home of horse racing in England. In fact, James spent so much time there that the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] petitioned him to concentrate more of his time on running the country.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}  The region has had a long association with horses going back to the time of [[Boudica]] and the [[Iceni]].{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} The first recorded race there was a match for £100 between horses owned by [[William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury|Lord Salisbury]] and [[George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham|Marquess of Buckingham]] in 1622, and the racecourse was founded in 1636.{{sfn|Barrett|1995|p=8}}

Chester continued to be a centre of the sport and by 1609 there are records of the St George's race being run five time round the "Roody" for a prize of silver bells and a sum of money.{{sfn|Cawthorne|Herod|1902|p=4}} The first known [[Rules of Racing]] date from [[Kiplingcotes]] in 1619.{{sfn|Barrett|1995|p=8}} Race meetings began to spring up elsewhere in the country.  Races were run for silver bells at Gatherley, near [[Richmond, North Yorkshire|Richmond]] in Yorkshire, [[Croydon]] and [[Theobalds]] on [[Enfield Chase]]. Jockey weights began to be measured and rigorously enforced,{{sfn|Whyte|1840|p=31}} and formal training of horses took place, paying attention to food and exercise.{{sfn|Nimrod|1901|p=10}}

[[James VI and I]] encouraged the sport. Some of the Spanish horses that ended up in [[Galloway]] after the wrecking of the [[Spanish Armada]] were kept by local people and raced against the King's own horses when he was in Ireland. They proved better than the King's and were bought for the royal stables.{{sfn|Cawthorne|Herod|1902|p=4}} The King supported several meetings, even acting as [[Clerk of the Course]] at [[Lincoln Racecourse|Lincoln]] in 1607 and built a house at Newmarket as a hunting lodge and so he could enjoy the racing there.{{sfn|Cawthorne|Herod|1902|p=4}} Private match races between gentlemen, riding their own horses, rather than using hired jockeys as became the norm later, became commons.{{sfn|Nimrod|1901|p=10}}

Around the time that [[Charles I of England]] came to the [[throne]], Spring and Autumn race meetings were introduced to Newmarket and in 1634 the first Gold Cup event was held. Charles gave a 100 guinea silver cup to be raced for at [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]], and instituted a silver plate at Newmarket. Meetings at [[Stamford, Lincolnshire|Stamford]] and [[Epsom Racecourse|Epsom]] were now well established.

All horse racing was then banned in 1654 by [[Oliver Cromwell]], and many horses were requisitioned by the state. Despite this Cromwell himself kept a stud running of his own.{{sfn|Whyte|1840|p=36}} With the [[English Restoration|restoration]] of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] racing flourished and he instituted the [[Newmarket Town Plate]] in 1664, writing the rules himself:

{{Quote box|''Articles ordered by His Majestie to be observed by all persons that put in horses to ride for the Plate, the new round heat at Newmarket set out on the first day of October, 1664, in the 16th year of our Sovereign Lord King Charles II, which Plate is to be rid for yearly, the second Thursday in October for ever''|King Charles II, Rules of the Newmarket Town Plate|quoted =1}}

[[William III of England|William III]] founded a riding academy and gave plates to be ridden for in many parts of the country. Between 1695 and 1702, he ran his own horses at Newmarket, including in a 2000 guinea match against the [[Duke of Somerset]]. The influential [[Tregonwell Frampton]], known as the "Father of the Turf" was keeper of William's horses, and performed the same task for [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]], [[George I of Great Britain|George I]] and possibly Charles II and James II. He did much to improve the breed.{{sfn|Cawthorne|Herod|1902|p=7}}

The three foundation sires of the modern thoroughbred, the [[Byerley Turk]], [[Darley Arabian]] and [[Godolphin Barb]] were imported to England in the late 17th and early 18th centuries and founded the lines which can be traced down to every modern thoroughbred racehorse.<ref name="Waterman-p. 71"/> At this point, they weren't the only influential sires. Others, including the grey Barb donated by the King to a Mr Hutton, and known as Hutton's Grey Barb contributed importantly to the breed.{{sfn|Cawthorne|Herod|1902|p=4}}
[[File:Jockey-.jpg|left|thumb|Jockey, Edwardian painting by the famous Irish artist [[William Orpen]]]] The improvement of the breed was not purely for sporting purposes though. Warfare and conquest were also factors. As Whyte noted, "to the excellence of the British horse... may be ascribed much of our superiority over other nations, both in commerce and in war."{{sfn|Whyte|1840|p=vii}}