Today in Horse Race History
Horse Races: Belmont Stakes - Breeders' Cup - Kentucky Derby - Preakness Stakes - The Grand National
Events in Sport
- 1540-02-09 The first recorded race meet in England (Roodee Fields, Chester)
- 1809-04-18 First run of 2,000 guineas horse race at Newmarket, England
- 1815-07-15 1st flat horse race held at English race track Cheltenham on Nottingham Hill
- 1838-01-01 1st official horse race in South Australia-Adelaide
- 1864-08-02 Saratoga Racecourse, America's oldest Thoroughbred racetrack, opens its inaugural meet with four days of racing
- 1905-02-15 1st race meet at Oaklawn Park (Hot Springs, Ark)
- 1942-07-18 1st legal New Jersey horse race in 50 years; Garden State Park track opens
- 1950-04-26 Last horse race at Havre de Grace Track in Md, is run
- 1951-07-14 1st color telecast of a sporting event (CBS-horse race)
Event of Interest
1960-06-15 Ángel Cordero Jr. wins his 1st of over 7,000 horse races
Ángel Cordero Jr.
- 1962-07-07 Bill Hartack becomes 8th jockey to win 3,000 American thoroughbred races
- 1981-08-30 Bill Shoemaker becomes the first jockey to win a $1 million thoroughbred horse race when John Henry takes the inaugural Arlington Million by a nose over The Bart
- 1983-06-29 40 year old Puerto Rican jockey Ángel Cordero Jr. wins his 5,000th race with a victory in the last race at Belmont; 4th jockey to achieve milestone
- 1990-02-03 Jockey Bill Shoemaker (58), retires after 40,350 horse race
- 1991-10-17 Ángel Cordero Jr. is 3rd jockey to win 7,000 horse races
- 1992-05-07 Champion Puerto Rican jockey Ángel Cordero Jr. retires after winning 7,057 thoroughbred horse races
Birthdays in Sport
- 1831-02-12 John Morrissey, Irish born American boxer, US Congressman developer of Saratoga Springs horse race track, born in Templemore, Ireland (d. 1878)
- 1985-04-10 Eddie Castro, Panamanian jockey (record 9 wins in one race meeting 2005), born in Los Santos Province, Panama