Archive for the ‘From the Archives — American Turf Register’ Category
Posted on November 18, 2011 - by Annie Johnson
How to Catch a Wild Turkey, Circa 1831
In preparation for next week’s Thanksgiving holiday, the Turf Times shares the following informative article on obtaining the family dinner — selected from the archives of the American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine.
Wild Turkey.
But the most common method of procuring wild turkeys, is by means of pens. These are placed in parts of the woods where turkeys have been frequently observed to roost, and are constructed in the following manner.
Posted on September 30, 2011 - by Annie Johnson
Rules for Laying Out a Race Course
Coverage of closing day for the 1837 New Orleans Jockey Club Spring Races concludes next week! For this week’s issue, the Times shares the following resource for track building, circa 1833:
Rules for Laying Out a Race Course.
Plan of a Race Course; see larger diagram at bottom
Through the middle of the intended course, lengthwise, indicate the dotted line a b, and place on it blocks, or flat stones, firmly secured; the tops level with the surface of the ground, at O O; distant from each other, centre to centre, four hundred and forty yards, (a quarter of a mile,) exactly measured (more…)
Posted on September 16, 2011 - by Annie Johnson
General Kosciuszko’s Horse — As Noble as the Man Himself
Dear Readers of the Turf Times: Our correspondent’s coverage of the New Orleans Jockey Club’s 1837 Inaugural Spring Races will resume in next week’s issue!
In the meantime, here’s a brief tale of true chivalry, culled from the archives of the American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine.
Polish General Thaddeus Kosciuszko, Father of American Artillery Tactics, American Revolutionary War Hero, and Civil Rights Advocate (1746-1817)
General Kosciuszko’s Horse
The celebrated Polish general, Kosciuszko, once wished to send some bottles of good wine to a clergyman at Solothurn [Switzerland]; and, as he hesitated to send them by his servant, lest he should smuggle a part, he gave the commission to a young man of the name of Zeltuer, and desired him to take the horse which he himself usually rode.
Posted on August 19, 2011 - by Annie Johnson
On the Treatment of the Race Horse, Immediately Preceding and on the Day of the Race
Mr. Editor: Natchez, Nov. 22, 1830
I have seen with pleasure, and I hope, some profit, the “instructions for training race horses,” given by “A Virginian,” in the 10th No. of your Magazine; but I am very anxious to learn the best mode of treating, feeding, and exercising a horse, the day previous to, and also on the day of the race.
Posted on August 19, 2011 - by Annie Johnson
“Could Nature More Clearly Sanction the Sports of the Turf?”
From an 1831 issue of the American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine, here’s an amusing anecdote about a pair of highly trained thoroughbreds, who ran their race without having to be asked – just like the plucky Virginia colt who crossed the finish line first in “A Toast to Bumper, the Best Winded, the Fleetest Horse of All” (12 August 2011) – Ed.
Connect — Follow the Turf Times on Facebook & Twitter!
About the Turf Times
Antebellum Turf Times is a weekly publication dedicated to America's first national pastime—specifically the history of thoroughbred racing in America prior to the Civil War.
Subscribers may register for weekly delivery of the Times via email or RSS feed.
