No horse has ever been faster than the Thoroughbred, the equine world's "racing machine." These horses are the speediest and most valuable of all breeds. The Thoroughbred changes hands for huge sums of money and is the basis for a worldwide, multi-million dollar business. They are not only champions at racing but in almost every other kind of horse sport. The breed originated in the early 1700s in England. It's ancestry traces back to three foundation sires: the Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Arabian. The pedigree of every modern Thoroughbred can be traced back to one of four lines founded by these horses.
At the seige of Buda, Captain Byerley captured a horse from the Turks which would carry his name into history. The horse became known as the Byerley Turk and was the first of three foundation stallions to come to Britain. The horse distinguished himself as a sire although he was not bred to many mares. In spite of his name, he was probably an Arabian. The Byerley Turk founded a line of Thoroughbreds, the most distinguished of which was Herod, who was foaled in 1758, and proved to be a very successful sire himself.
The second of the three foundation stallions to be imported to England was the Darley Arabian. He was foaled in 1700 and bought by Thomas Darley in 1704. He was then shipped to Yorkshire , England where he was bred to numerous mares.The most successful matings were with Betty Leeds, which resulted in two very important colts: Flying Childers and Bartlets Childers. Through teh Childers line, the Darley Arabian was the great-great-grandsire of Eclipse who gained the description "Eclipse first, the rest nowhere." The Darley Arabian is the most important of the three foundation stallions in terms of his influence on the Thoroughbred breed.
The last of the foundation stallions to come to England was a horse foaled in Yemen. After being shipped to Syria and then to Tunis, he was given to the King of France as a gift. One story tells of the horse pulling a lowly watercart in Paris. The carthorse was admired and bought by an Englishman named Edward Coke, who brought him to England. The second Earl of Godolphin aquired the horse and bred him to several distinguished mares. Mated to Roxana, he sired Lath, the greatest racehorse in England after Flying Childers, and another mating of these two produced Cade, the sire of Great Matchem, who carried on the line of the Godolphin Arabian. In 1850 it was remarked that "the blood of the Godolphin Arabian is in every stable in England.
The Thoroughbred stands on average of 16 hands high. Its color is usually Chestnut, bay, brown, black or gray. They have a lean, fine, and intellegent head with large, straight ears, flared nostrils and bold, expressive eyes. It has a long, elegant neck that is set high on sloping shoulders and its deep chest provides a large amount of room for a powerful heart and lungs. Its body is built for speed - narrow and lean, but with strong loins and quarters. The legs are fine and hard. Length in the forearms, and from the hips to the hock, gives it a hugely long, free stride and maximum foreward push for galloping. During a race, a Thoroughbred's heart rate can increase from 25 to 250 beats per minute.
