Horse Racing
Prior to the 1910s, horse racing in the United States was not an especially lucrative sport for
the owners. The purse money for races came only from admissions, which meant that it was
unpredictable. During this decade, however, major tracks started requiring owners to pay
entry fees for stake races which increased the prize money considerably. Races that grew in
popularity during the 1910s included the Saratoga Cup, the Belmont, the Champagne, the
Alabama, the Preakness, the Withers, and the Kentucky Derby. These races generated
excitement within the sport and brought in more fans. At the same time, though,
progressive reformers cracked down on gambling, which had a major impact on the sport
and its followers.
Economics and Betting
By 1910, betting was a firmly established aspect of the horse-racing world, a reality that
created widespread concern among reformers who sought to eliminate gambling and its
related vices. Most racetrack betting was conducted through bookmakers who paid a fee to
track owners in exchange for the privilege to handle racetrack betting. Bookmakers, of
course, guaranteed themselves a cut of the payouts before distributing the money. In 1908,
concerned with the potential problems associated with gambling in general and bookmaking
in particular, Kentucky legislators passed a law that prohibited bookmaking. A similar law
was passed in the same year in Maryland.
Because Kentucky and Maryland were dominant states in horse racing, track owners got
around the laws by allowing pari-mutuel betting. In this system, all bets are placed together
in a pool and odds are determined by sharing the pool among all placed bets. As a result
horse racing actually thrived in these two states in the early 1910s. Pimlico Racetrack in
Baltimore, which was already considered one of the top tracks in the East by 1910, became
a leader in daily purse distribution by the 1920s. In an effort to capitalize on the popularity
of racing in the Baltimore area, several new racetracks were built during this period. These
included Laurel in 1911, Havre de Grace in 1912, and Prince George (later Bowie) in 1914.
Maryland, Kentucky, and several western states also benefited in the first years of this
decade from anti-racing developments in New York State. In 1910 antigambling legislators
with the support of New York governor Charles Evans Hughes passed an especially strict
anti-betting law that effectively ended racing in the state for two years. This was especially
damaging to the sport because New York had a long and rich tradition in horse racing and
boasted one of the best tracks in the country at Saratoga Springs. When racing was
reinstituted in 1913, only Saratoga and three other tracks were able to begin holding races
right away. In the second half of the 1910s, the popularity and stability of the sport grew in
New York and around the country.
Great Horses of the 1910s and the Emergence of the Triple Crown
Three horses from the 1910s deserve special mention. Horse racing is typically dominated
by male horses. This was certainly true during the 1910s with one notable exception. In
1915 Regret became the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby. The Derby has been run more
than 130 times, and Regret is only one of three fillies to ever win it. The second victory by a
filly did not come until Genuine Risk won in 1980. Born in 1912 in New Jersey, Regret was
bred by Harry Payne Whitney, a successful American owner. She was sired by Broomstick,
the leading sire from 1913 through 1915, and was out of the Hamburg mare Jersey
Lightning. After racing lightly, but making a name for herself, in her two-year-old season,
Regret began her three-year-old season with the Kentucky Derby. Picked as a favorite over
the outstanding colt, Pebbles, she did not disappoint and led wire to wire. Perhaps most
important, Regret's groundbreaking win focused the attention of Americans on the Derby
and greatly increased its popularity. In fact, some have noted that it was Regret's 1915
victory that established the Kentucky Derby as an American institution. The filly finished her
career with nine wins and one second in eleven starts, earning just over $35,000. She
retired a legend and became a successful broodmare.
In the last few years of the 1910s, Exterminator played a major role in American racing. A
gangly gelding who made his three-year-old debut with a win in the Kentucky Derby in
1918, Exterminator went on to race for eight seasons in more than 100 races. He won fifty
of those races and became known for his stamina over long distances and for his ability to
win carrying heavy weights. Horses who won were handicapped with more weight in
subsequent races. Twenty times he won carrying more than 130 pounds, sometimes as
much as 138 pounds. Exterminator had several trainers over his long career and won races
in Canada and Mexico as well as in the United States. He amassed earnings of $252,996
before retiring in 1924 after seven starts as an eight-year-old. He retired to the stable of
Willis Sharpe Kilmer in Binghamton, New York, and died in 1945 at the age of thirty.
While Regret made her mark by winning the Kentucky Derby and Exterminator impressed
by racing successfully for so many years, Sir Barton earned his place in history by being the
first horse to win the American Triple Crown. At the time, the Kentucky Derby, the
Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes were not known collectively as the Triple Crown, but
each was considered a premiere race. Given how closely together the races were run as well
as their varying lengths, no horse had ever won all three in a single season. This feat, along
with his five other victories in 1919, made him an easy choice for Horse of the Year honors.
Sir Barton and Exterminator, however, were about to be eclipsed by the legendary Man o’
War, who began his illustrious career in 1919 and went on to become one of the greatest
racehorses in history.
Name: ___________________
Horse-racing racetrack,
Saratoga, July 1913
(Courtesy of the Library of Congress)
1. Which races grew in popularity in the 1910’s?
2. What had a major impact on the sport and its followers?
3. How was most race track betting conducted?
4. What 2 states passed laws that prohibited bookmaking?
5. What is pari-mutual betting?
6. What was considered a top track in the East in the 1910’s?
7. What 3 new tracks were built in this time period?
8. What state suffered from anti-racing developments? Who passed the strict laws?
9. Which filly won the 1st Kentucky Derby?
10. Who was the 2nd filly to win it? In what year?
11. Her win did what to the Kentucky Derby?
12. Who played a major role in American racing in the last few years of the 1910’s?
13. How were horses handicapped?
14. Who was the 1st Triple Crown Winner?
15. What horse was to become one of the greatest in race horsing history?