Horse racing in the United States and on the North American continent dates back

to 1665, which saw the establishment of the Newmarket course in Salisbury, New
York, a section of what is now known as the Hempstead Plains of Long Island, New
York. This first racing meet in North America was supervised by New York's colo
nial governor, Richard Nicolls. The area is now occupied by the present Nassau C
ounty, New York, region of Greater Westbury and East Garden City. The South West
bury section is also (appropriately) known as Salisbury.
In the United States, Thoroughbred flat races are run on surfaces of either dirt
, synthetic or turf. Other tracks offer Quarter Horse racing and Standardbred ho
rse racing, or combinations of these three types of racing surfaces. Racing of o
ther breeds, such as Arabian horse racing, is found on a limited basis. American
Thoroughbred races are run at a wide variety of distances, most commonly from 5
to 12 furlongs (0.63 to 1.50 mi; 1.0 to 2.4 km); with this in mind, breeders of
Thoroughbred race horses attempt to breed horses that excel at a particular dis
tance (see Dosage Index).
The Pleasanton Fairgrounds Racetrack at the Alameda County Fairgrounds is the ol
dest horse racing track in America[citation needed], dating back to 1858, when i
t was founded by the sons of the Spaniard Don Agustin Bernal.
In 1665, the first racetrack was constructed on Long Island. It is the oldest Th
oroughbred race in North America. The American Stud Book was started in 1868, pr
ompting the beginning of organized horse racing in the United States. There were
314 tracks operating in the United States by 1890; and in 1894, the American Jo
ckey Club was formed.[24]
Horse racing at Jacksonville, Alabama, 1841
The first record of quarter mile length races dated back to 1674 in Henrico Coun
ty, Virginia. Each race consisted of only two horses and they raced down the vil
lage streets and lanes. The Quarter Horse received its name due to the length of
the race. The races were indeed "a quarter" of a mile, or 400 meters. The breed
of horse was developed so they could get off to a quick start, and win the race
.
Belmont Park is part of the western edge of the Hempstead Plains. Its mile-and-a
-half main track is the largest dirt Thoroughbred race course in the world, and
it has the sport's largest grandstand.
One of the latest major horse track opened in the United States was the Meadowla
nds Racetrack opened in 1977 for Thoroughbred racing. It is the home of the Mead
owlands Cup. Other more recently opened tracks include Remington Park, Oklahoma
City, opened in 1988, and Lone Star Park in the DallasFort Worth Metroplex, opene
d in 1997; the latter track hosted the prestigious Breeders' Cup series of races
in 2004.
Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has its own Hall of Fame in Sarat
oga Springs, New York. The Hall of Fame honors remarkable horses, jockeys, owner
s, and trainers.
The traditional high point of US horse racing is the Kentucky Derby, held on the
first Saturday of May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Together, the
Derby; the Preakness Stakes, held two weeks later at Pimlico Race Course in Bal
timore, Maryland; and the Belmont Stakes, held three weeks after the Preakness a
t Belmont Park on Long Island, form the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing for
three-year-olds. They are all held early in the year, throughout May and the beg
inning of June. In recent years the Breeders' Cup races, run at the end of the y
ear, have challenged the Triple Crown events as determiners of the three-year-ol
d Champion. The Breeders' Cup is normally held at a different track every year;
however the 2010 and 2011 editions were held at Churchill Downs, and the 2012 an
d 2013 races were held at Santa Anita Park, as will the 2014 edition.
The corresponding Standardbred event is the Breeders' Crown. There are also a Tr
iple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers and a Triple Crown of Harness Racing for
Trotters, as well as an Arabian Triple Crown consisting of Drinkers of the Wind
Derby in California, the Texas Six Shooter Stakes, and the Bob Magness Derby in
Delaware.
American betting on horse racing is sanctioned and regulated by the state the ra
cetrack is located in. Simulcast betting exists across state lines with minimal
oversight except the companies involved through legalized parimutuel gambling. A
takeout, or "take", is removed from each betting pool and distributed according
to state law, among the state, race track and horsemen. A variety of factors af
fect takeout, namely location and the type of wager that is placed.
This quote has been taken from Wikipedia and is therefore not an original work,
yet it stands to qualify for qualitative research into the field of studies. Emp
irical data untested.