THE BREEDS OF HORSES 77 



The principal foundation to whicli the Thoroughbred traces 

 consists of the Barb or Eoyal mares, imported by Charles Second 

 (1660 to 1685), and the Barley Arabian, a pure Anazah, im- 

 ported in 1706 ; the Byerly Turk, imported in 1689; and Godol- 

 phiu Barb, brought from Paris in 1724. The latter had been 

 working in a water cart, a discard, no doubt, from the stableof 

 some member of the nobility to whom he had been presented, as 

 was commonly the custom. 



There are prominent families in the Thoroughbred and 

 derived breeds which can be traced direct to each of these sires. 

 Eclipse, the most conspicuous individual in the history of the 

 English turf ; Blaze, the foundation Hackney sire, and Messen- 

 ger, the progenitor of the American Standardbred, were respec- 

 tively four, three and six generations removed from the Darley 

 Arabian. King Herod, a great race horse, was a line descendant 

 of the Byerly Turk, and Matchem, a noted race horse and sire, 

 was a grandson of Godolphin Barb. It has been stated that the 

 American bred Thoroughbreds are, as a rule, closer to their 

 Oriental ancestry than the English Thoroughbreds and that they 

 follow their type more closely. 



Early Racing. — While the real era of Thoroughbred breed- 

 ing is usually considered to have begun with the importation by 

 Charles Second, horse racing of a primitive character was re- 

 ported in the latter half of the twelfth century. The first real 

 race was run in 1377, between Eichard Second and the Earl of 

 Arundel. Heniy the Eighth was the first king to maintain a 

 racing stable of his own, and the English sovereigns since that 

 time have been enthusiastic patrons of the turf. 



Through these centuries of breeding the most ligid selection 

 has been practised, turf performance alone being the standard. 

 Customs of conducting races and the types of horses that could 

 win have undergone considerable modification within recent 

 generations, however. Prior to 1880 it was customary to run 

 four mile heats and carry top weight, while the present system 

 is to sprint short distances under close handicaps, starting as 

 two-year-olds and campaigning for entire seasons. 



Thoroughbreds were introduced into this country by the 

 English colonists in Old Dominion, and the Thoroughbred sen- 



