Betting is one of the oldest forms of gambling, which take an irreplaceable place in history. It is also not a secret that the UK audience is the biggest fan of horse racing betting, but who did make it so great and popular? In this blog post, you will find an ultimate overview of the UK royal family’s impact on this industry. Find more on the GBC Time website.
When it comes to the most powerful family worldwide, there might be two options: either the Kardashians or the UK Royal family. But let us discuss the monarchy of Great Britain this time. Talking more specifically, the family’s passion for horse racing and its impact on the sports betting industry around the country and abroad.
One of the biggest fans of horse racing was definitely Queen Elizabeth II, who was introduced to this sport in her earliest childhood. The Queen was spending her free time breeding and racing her thoroughbred horses. However, she was still not the only one in the royal family, who loved everything about this hobby.
How the horse racing hobby showed up in a royal family
Horse racing became a monarchy tradition a long time ago in the 1500s. Talking more specifically, the very first horse racing took a place in the 1510s, while Henry VIII was on the throne. The King was probably the one who reformed a lot of aspects of the horse business. He also provided rapid horse importation from foreign countries to improve the whole industry in the UK.
Another family member, who also contributed a lot to this market’s development was Charles II. The King wrote the rules including:
- No one can hold, strike or bring down another rider;
- The winner is obligated to give 20 shillings to be distributed to the poor and 20 shillings to the clerk of the course for maintenance;
- Only elite people had a right to compete, therefore, no serving men or groom men.
Thanks to Charles II, this sport was taken more seriously by the audience. The investors started financially supporting the winners, horses, and promising athletes. The real business had begun.
Since that time, the royal family was an active member of the horse racing fan club around the country. This tradition was passed down from one generation to another. So even the Royal Family members of the modern days have the same passion as their forefathers.
Queen Elizabeth’s horses
Her Majesty was probably the most successful horse race owner in the history of the family. As myracing.com reports, from 1988 to 2017, Queen’s horses participated in 2 830 races and won 451 of them. Thanks to these victories, her total winning fund was £6.7 million at that time.
You can watch an exclusive video of one of the Queen’s winnings at the link.
As it was customary, Queen Elizabeth II passed down this hobby to her children, and they did the same to their children. It seems like Royal Family is the real guardian of the tradition that will be living a long time in the Kingdom.
Horse racing betting in the UK today
Obviously, such success in the betting horse racing industry could not even be possible without Royal Family’s contribution to the market.
Nowadays, the percentage of horse racing viewers, who can place a bet reaches 97.4%. However, a general turnover of the number of bets decreases. Comparing annual turnover from the off-course horse racing betting of 2009 and 2019, it becomes clear that the sum is going down from £5.74 billion to around £4 billion.
But still, horse racing is one of the most popular sports in the country not only to watch but to place a bet as well.
