Tag Archives: horse industry

The Horse Racing Industry In Delaware

Horse Racing has very deep roots in the culture of the world. But, for  the United States we can trace are involvement all the way back to 1665. Thats when the first known track was laid out in Long Island. All standard breed horses in America can trace back their lineage to Hamiltonian. As for  Delaware, we would get into horse racing in the 1760s and its all history from there. This was a great presentation with a ton of information in it. Mark Davis did a great job giving us a taste of what it would be like to be in the horse business. Also, about what we would need to know if we wanted to get in the horse business. Im sure there is a lot more we would need to know but he gave us a nice foundation to build on. This was are last guest lecture of the semester and it was a great way to finish.

DELAWARE’S HORSE RACING INDUSTRY WITH MARK DAVIS

On October 24th, 2018 we had guest speaker Mark Davis give us a lecture on the horse racing industry in Delaware. Before his lecture I already knew some information about the horse racing industry since my neighbors had horses that they raced in harness racing. I also have a friend from high school who does barrel racing. Even with this information that I had been exposed to it was only a little bit of the industry. Mark Davis went on to explain the industry in more detail on things I hadn’t heard about before. He started out by mentioning how the origins of modern horse racing began in the 12th century when English knights returned from the Crusades with swift Arabian horses. He also mentioned that the earliest records of racing were in England during the year 1530. He then went on to information about the current stats in the US for the industry. In the US there are 9.2 million horses which are used for racing, show, recreation, and other. He also mentioned a common misconception about raising horses. Most people think only the wealthy raise horses. It turns out that there are approximately 34% of horse owners who have a household income of less than $50,000 and 28% have an annual income of over $100,000. After this he mentioned information on Delaware and then different jobs in the industry. Some of the jobs in the industry are judges, investigators, veterinarians, and horseman. One thing I didn’t know was that you needed a license for harness racing.

Horse Racing

This was the most interesting lecture that I had the opportunity to listen to.  Not knowing the details behind the industry I found that Mark Davis was a very intriguing and knowledgeable person.  I discovered through this lecture that horse racing is one of the oldest sports and as well very popular.  The horse racing industry brings in $39 billion annually and effects the U.S. economy greatly.  Horse racing in Delaware dates back to 1760’s where the first racing facility was built in the town of Newark.  Following this commissions were established and as well numerous racetracks were created.  What really shocked me was how much horse racing  impacted Delaware,  bringing in $182 million and creating 1,540 jobs.   Delaware’s Equine Industry ranks third nationally and as well brings in $280 million each year.   The horse racing industry is quite prominent and impacts Delaware significantly.