Cultural Transfer, Circulation, and Diffusion between Britain and Europe from the 1770s to the 1870s: The Case of Thoroughbred Horse-Racing and Breeding

Abstract

This study explores the transnational flows of ideas about racing, thoroughbred horse-breeding, and racing’s literary structures between Britain and mainland Europe between circa 1770 and the 1880s. It draws out the ideas and ideologies associated with horse racing and breeding; the cross-border movements of cultural mediators (such as owners, breeders, jockeys, and trainers); and the relevant media produced. It reveals the initial resistance to British models, especially amongst equestrian and state stud officials, and the relatively meagre support for horse-racing in much of continental Europe up to the 1850s. But British models were promulgated by some aristocrats and the emerging bourgeois elites, especially in France, Germany, Prussia, and Austria-Hungary. Some English trainers and jockeys moved to Europe to gain employment. European racing societies soon emerged, while national stud books, racing calendars, and racing magazines transmitted information about British racing. As British-style racing spread, Europeans adopted many British practices. But European culture was different, so racing culture was adapted, modified and resisted, whether in the European popularity for Sunday races, the limited interest in betting or differences in funding, while the wish to compete encouraged growing success for European horses in British races from the 1850s.