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During the Revolution, George Washington, spotting a group of Connecticut cavalry officers on fine gray horses, inquired with one Captain Lindsey about a set of Arabian horses sired by a stud named Ranger. As it turned out, the sultan of Morocco had gifted Ranger to a British captain who had left the horse on American soil as a breeder. Washington, who had an eye for fine horses, bought the horse, which he subsequently crossed with another famous Arabian offspring, the mare Othello. The mare sired Magnolio, a chestnut stallion, who raced and lost at the Alexandria, Virginia track against a horse belonging to George’s friend and sometimes rival Thomas Jefferson. Cutting his losses, George sold Magnolio to his friend Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee for several thousand acres of land in Kentucky.
In many ways, gambling on horses in the 18th century was easier than it is today. Most of the “gentlemen” who bet on horses knew each other; they knew their horses, including the bloodlines of the opposing horses. The riders were often servants or slaves, and while the races were an often brutal sport for the riders, for the gentry, they allowed for stylish displays, including exhibitions by ladies sporting new dresses and parasols. Race days, which often coincided with court days, legitimized aristocratic values, including wealth, competition, and independence. The scene also allowed men to let off steam and to settle financial scores in a peaceful, even genteel manner....
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Our Founding Gamblers—particularly those of a Southern persuasion—gambled not only on horses but pretty much everything else. Fun.