The Jersey Act was introduced to prevent the registration of most American-bred Thoroughbred horses in the British General Stud Book. It had its roots in the desire of British horse breeders to halt the influx of American- bred racehorses of possibly impure bloodlines during the early 20th century. Between 1908 and 1913, over 1500 Th thoroughbreds were exported from the United states.
About Jersey Act in brief
The Jersey Act was introduced to prevent the registration of most American-bred Thoroughbred horses in the British General Stud Book. It had its roots in the desire of British horse breeders to halt the influx of American- bred racehorses of possibly impure bloodlines during the early 20th century. In 1913, the Jockey Club and the owners of the General Stud book passed a regulation named by the foreign press after Lord Jersey. Despite protests from American breeders, the regulation remained in force until 1949. Among the factors influencing its relaxation were the racing success of ineligible horses in Europe and the damage caused to British and Irish breeders by the unavailability of French Thoroughoroughbreds during and after the Second World War. In addition, by 1949 the possiblyimpure ancestors of the American bloodlines had receded far back in most horses’ ancestry. The rules allowed a horse to be registered if all of the horse’s ancestors were registered in the General stud Book or if it had been bred outside of Britain or Ireland. Other countries, including the United States, France, Australia and Russia, were considered by the British andIrish to be much laxer and to have allowed some non-Th thoroughbred horses into their national stud books. The outlawing of race-track betting in parts of the U.S.
between 1900 and 1913 led to a large influx of Americans into Britain and Ireland, giving rise to fears among British breeders that their own stock would become worthless. By 1911, the average price for yearlings sold at auction was at a record low of USD 230. Before 1900, most horses were imported into Britain to race, and rarely stayed for a breeding career. Between 1908 and 1913, over 1500 Th thoroughbreds were exported from the United states. Those exported included 24 horses who had been or would later become champions – among them Artful, Colin, Henry of Navarre, Peter Pan, and Ballot. As a result of the downturn in the horse market in the US, it was assumed that most of the horses sent to Europe would stay there permanently and, after retirement from the racetrack, would enter their breeding careers outside of the US. The result was that most American Thorough Breeders in 1913 were unable to show an unblemished pedigree according to the GeneralStud Book rules. Adding to the problem was the fact American horses were winning the big horse races in England, starting with Iroquois, who won the Epsom Derby in 1881. In 1909, English authorities began to limit the number of training licences at Newmarket Racecourse, turning away a number of American horses turning away from English racing.
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This page is based on the article Jersey Act published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 05, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
