Crab Orchard in Lincoln County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)
Beginning of Horse Racing in Kentucky
Photographed by Tom Bosse, April 12, 2017
1. Beginning of Horse Racing in Kentucky Marker
Inscription.
Beginning of Horse Racing in Kentucky. . Disagreements in early Kentucky were not always settled by duels, but often, by a horse race, run in a straight course of about a quarter mile distance on the public roads. Quarter horses were specifically bred to run these straight-coursed races. The first circular track appeared in American in 1780. In the February 16, 1778, Kentucky Gazette, there was a notice of an English bred quarter horse “Pilgarlick” standing at stud in Lexington. Thoroughbreds, also of English stock and bred to run the longer distance of a circular track, appeared in Kentucky in 1797 with the horse “Blaze”. Colonel William Whitley, at his estate “Sportsman’s Hill” is credited with building the first circular track in Kentucky.
Whitley settled in Kentucky in 1775 from Virginia. In 1788, Whitley began to hold annual fall racing. The races became so popular that the Lincoln County Court “Ordered…to view the most convenient way for a road from Whitley’s race path to the courthouse and report thereof to the court”.
By 1800, the sport of horse racing had spurred the building of tracks in Georgetown, Danville, Bardstown, Shelbyville, Versailles, Winchester, and Maysville, Kentucky.
Disagreements in early Kentucky were not always settled by duels, but often, by a horse race, run in a straight course of about a quarter mile distance on the public roads. Quarter horses were specifically bred to run these straight-coursed races. The first circular track appeared in American in 1780. In the February 16, 1778, Kentucky Gazette, there was a notice of an English bred quarter horse “Pilgarlick” standing at stud in Lexington. Thoroughbreds, also of English stock and bred to run the longer distance of a circular track, appeared in Kentucky in 1797 with the horse “Blaze”. Colonel William Whitley, at his estate “Sportsman’s Hill” is credited with building the first circular track in Kentucky.
Whitley settled in Kentucky in 1775 from Virginia. In 1788, Whitley began to hold annual fall racing. The races became so popular that the Lincoln County Court “Ordered…to view the most convenient way for a road from Whitley’s race path to the courthouse and report thereof to the court”.
By 1800, the sport of horse racing had spurred the building of tracks in Georgetown, Danville, Bardstown, Shelbyville, Versailles, Winchester, and Maysville, Kentucky.
Location. 37° 28.13′ N, 84° 32.877′ W. Marker is in Crab Orchard, Kentucky, in Lincoln County. It is on William Whitley Road, on the left when traveling east. Marker is located on Sportsman's Hill across from William Whitley House. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Crab Orchard KY 40419, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Kentucky’s The Knobs. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Celebration (within shouting distance of this marker); A Little Bit to Eat at the Race
Credits. This page was last revised on July 15, 2017. It was originally submitted on July 14, 2017, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 1,313 times since then and 90 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on July 14, 2017, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
