ABSTRACT
The eighteenth century witnessed the formalization of the sport of kings with the founding of the Jockey Club. Scholars and sports enthusiasts have long held that the Jockey Club was founded early in the 1750s. However, this essay offers evidence from contemporary newspapers and an engraving that a group calling itself the Jockey Club gathered on several occasions over the preceding 40 years. In addition to the importance to sporting history, this antedating emphasizes the fact that horse racing was more deeply rooted in the nation’s identity and became an obsession with peers of the realm earlier than has been commonly assumed.
