The Jersey Act was introduced to prevent the registration of most American-bred Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 horses in the British General Stud Book

General Stud Book

The General Stud Book was the original breed registry of the United Kingdom for horses. It specifically was used to document the breeding of Thoroughbreds and related foundation bloodstock such as the Arabian horse....

. It had its roots in the desire of the British to halt the influx of American-bred racehorse

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

s of possibly impure bloodlines during the early 20th century. Many American-bred horses were exported to Europe to race and retire to a breeding career after a number of US states banned gambling, which depressed Thoroughbred racing as well as breeding in that country. The loss of breeding records during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 and the late beginning of the registration of American Thoroughbreds led many in the British racing establishment to doubt that the American-bred horses were purebred.

In 1913 the Jockey Club

Jockey Club

The Jockey Club is the largest commercial organisation in British horseracing. Although no longer responsible for the governance and regulation of the sport, it owns 14 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham and Newmarket, amongst other concerns such as the National Stud and...

 and the owners of the General Stud Book passed a regulation named by the foreign press after the Jockey Club's senior steward, Lord Jersey, prohibiting the registration of horses in the book unless all of their ancestors had been registered. Despite protests from American breeders the regulation was in force until 1949. Among the factors influencing its relaxation were the racing success of ineligible horses in Europe and the damage being caused to British and Irish breeders by the unavailability of French Thoroughbreds during and after the Second World War. In addition, by 1949 the impure ancestors of the American bloodlines had receded far back in most horses' ancestry.

Background

Before the introduction in 1913 of what became popularly known—"with questionnable taste" according to a correspondent writing in The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

—as the Jersey Act, Thoroughbred horses in the United Kingdom were registered in the General Stud Book, the stud book

Breed registry

A breed registry, also known as a stud book or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders when they are still young...

 for British and Irish Thoroughbreds. The rules allowed a horse to be registered if all of the horse's ancestors were registered in the General Stud Book or if it had been bred outside of Britain or Ireland and was registered in the stud book of its country of origin. Overall the General Stud Book had the most stringent rules for registration of Thoroughbreds at the time, around 1900; other countries, including the United States, France, Australia and Russia, were considered by the British and Irish to be much laxer and to have allowed some non-Thoroughbred horses into their national stud books.

The outlawing of race-track betting in parts of the United States between 1900 and 1913 led to a large influx of American-bred horses into Britain and Ireland, giving rise to fears among British breeders that they would be swamped by the American bloodlines and their own stock would become worthless. The biggest state to outlaw betting was New York, which passed the Hart–Agnew Law

Hart–Agnew Law

The Hart–Agnew Law was an anti-gambling bill passed into law by the Legislature of the State of New York on June 11, 1908. It was an amalgam of bills enacted as Chapter 506 and 507 which were sponsored by right-wing Assemblyman Merwin K. Hart and Republican Senator George B. Agnew...

 in 1908. By 1911, the average price for yearlings

Yearling (horse)

A yearling is a young horse of either sex that is between one and two years old. Yearlings are comparable in development to a very early adolescent, they are not fully mature physically, and while they may be in the earliest stages of sexual maturity, they are considered too young to be breeding...

 sold at auction was at a record low of $230 ($ as of ). Before 1900, most horses were imported into Britain to race, and rarely stayed for a breeding career. The outlawing of gambling resulted in large numbers of American horses that could no longer be supported, and many were shipped to Europe for racing. Because of the downturn in the horse market in the US, it was assumed that most of the horses sent to Europe would stay there permanently and, after retirement from the racetrack, would enter their breeding careers outside the US. Between 1908 and 1913, over 1500 Thoroughbreds were exported from the United States. Those exported included 24 horses who had been or would later become champions – among them Artful, Colin

Colin (horse)

Colin was one of America's greatest Thoroughbred racehorses. He retired undefeated after 15 starts and as a sire appears in the pedigree of the champion racehorse, Alsab.-Pedigree:...

, Henry of Navarre

Henry of Navarre (horse)

Henry of Navarre was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Sired by the 1884 Preakness Stakes winner Knight of Ellerslie he was named for the Huguenot king, Henry IV of France....

, Peter Pan, and Ballot

Ballot (horse)

Ballot was an American two-time Champion Thoroughbred racehorse and damsire of the very important sire, Bull Lea.Bred and raced by James R...

.

The American Stud Book

American Stud Book

The American Stud Book is the stud book for the Thoroughbred horse in the United States. It was founded by Sanders Bruce, with assistance from his brother B. G. Bruce...

, the registration book for American Thoroughbreds, was not founded until 1873, much later than the General Stud Book, and the rules for registration required only that a horse have five generations of ancestors in the American Stud Book or other national stud books, unlike the General Stud Book rules. In addition, many breeding records were destroyed during the American Civil War, as fighting during that conflict took place in noted American Thoroughbred breeding centers. The result was that most American Thoroughbreds in 1913 were unable to show an unblemished pedigree according to the General Stud Book rules. Adding to the problem was the fact that American horses were beginning to win the big horse races in England, starting with Iroquois

Iroquois (horse)

Iroquois , was the first American-bred Thoroughbred race horse to win the prestigious Epsom Derby at Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom, Surrey, England. He then went on to win the St...

, who won the 1881 Epsom Derby

Epsom Derby

The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...

.

J. B. Haggin

James Ben Ali Haggin

James Ben Ali Haggin was an Turkish Americanattorney, rancher, investor and a major owner/breeder in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing...

, an American breeder and owner of the historic Elmendorf Farm

Elmendorf Farm

Elmendorf Farm is a Kentucky Thoroughbred horse farm in Fayette County, Kentucky, and has been involved with horse racing since the early 19th century...

, had begun to ship large contingents of horses to England for sale, including the 1908 Grand National

Grand National

The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...

 steeplechase winner Rubio, and the fear was that if other American breeders followed his lead, the English racing market would be overwhelmed. As a first step, the English racing authorities began to limit the number of training licenses at Newmarket Racecourse

Newmarket Racecourse

The town of Newmarket, in Suffolk, England, is the headquarters of British horseracing, home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations. Newmarket Racecourse has two courses - the Rowley Mile Course and the July Course. Both are wide, galloping...

, turning away a number of American breeders. The General Stud Book rules for registration were also amended in 1909 to restrict registration to horses whose ancestry entirely traced to horses already registered in the General Stud Book, but horses registered in other national stud books were still allowed to be imported and registered.

Introduction

The owners of the General Stud Book, Weatherbys

Weatherbys

Weatherbys provides British Horseracing with its central administration, acts as its bank and maintains the founding Thoroughbred breed register...

, consulted with the Jockey Club, the United Kingdom's racing authority, and discussions were held about the problems in pedigrees recorded in the American Stud Book. At a meeting of the Jockey Club in spring 1913, Victor Child Villiers, Lord Jersey, the club's senior steward, proposed a resolution limiting the registration of American bloodlines. It passed unanimously in May, and a new regulation was placed in the General Stud Book, Volume 22:
Although named the Jersey Act by a critical foreign press, after Lord Jersey, the new regulation did not have the force of law as it was promulgated by the registration authorities of the Thoroughbred horse, not by the United Kingdom government. Nor was it promulgated by the Jockey Club, which had no authority over registration, only over racing matters. The regulation required that any horse registered in the General Stud Book trace in every line to a horse that had already been registered in the General Stud Book, effectively excluding most American-bred Thoroughbreds.

Effects

The new rule was not applied retroactively, therefore all American-bred horses registered before 1913 remained on the register, and their descendants were also eligible for registration. Of the 7,756 mares in Volume 27 of the General Stud Book, published in 1933, 930 would have been ineligible under the new rule. The Jersey Act did have an immediate impact however, as the winner of the 1914 Epsom Derby, Durbar II

Durbar (horse)

Durbar was a French racehorse. Although not the best of his generation in France , he proved too good for the leading British colts in the 1914 Epsom Derby, which he won by three lengths. His pedigree was controversial, with the British authorities not recognising him as a Thoroughbred...

, was ineligible for registration, as his dam, Armenia, was bred in the United States and was not herself eligible for the General Stud Book.

The main problem for American breeders was the presence of the blood of Lexington

Lexington (horse)

Lexington was a United States Thoroughbred race horse who won six of his seven race starts. Perhaps his greatest fame came however as the most successful sire of the second half of the nineteenth century; he was the Leading sire in North America 16 times, and of his many brood mare and racer...

 in their breeding programs. Lexington's pedigree on his dam's side was suspect in the eyes of British racing authorities, and as he had been the leading sire of racehorses in the United States for 16 years, his descendants were numerous. Most American-bred Thoroughbreds traced to Lexington at least once, and he was not the only horse with suspect bloodlines registered in the American Stud Book.

Most British breeders thought the regulation necessary and welcomed it, whereas most American breeders found it insulting, and believed that it was intended merely to protect the British racehorse market. The rule did adversely affect many British breeders as well though, including even one senior member of the Jockey Club, Lord Coventry

George Coventry, 9th Earl of Coventry

George William Coventry, 9th Earl of Coventry PC , styled Viscount Deerhurst until 1843, was a British Conservative politician...

, whose successful line of racehorses was ineligible for registration. Initially there was little foreign complaint or organized opposition, probably owing to the effect of the gambling bans in the United States on the domestic horse market. The American Jockey Club

The Jockey Club

The Jockey Club, formed on February 9, 1894, is the keeper of The American Stud Book. It came into existence after James R. Keene spearheaded a drive in support of racehorse trainers who had complained about the Board of Control that governed racing in New York State.-History:On its formation, The...

 did not even remark on the Jersey Act in its official publication, the General Stud Book, and no mention of it appears in the Jockey Club's meeting minutes for 1913. Contributing to the lack of outcry was a legal ruling in New York allowing oral betting at racetracks, which led to the growth of racing in the United States; by 1920 the American breeding market had rebounded and was booming.

The Jersey Act did not prevent the racing of horses containing the banned bloodlines, as horses with the suspect breeding raced and won in England, but they were considered to be "half-bred". A number of American-bred horses carrying the lines of Lexington had already been imported into England, including Americus, Rhoda B, and Sibola, and because they were grandfathered in, they and their descendants were allowed to be registered in the General Stud Book. Neither did it prevent the racing of horses that were not registered in the General Stud Book; it just prevented registration in the General Stud Book. American bloodlines, whether registered in the General Stud Book or not, dominated English racing in the 1920s and '30s. Horses that were ineligibile for General Stud Book registration, but were allowed to race, were identified with a Maltese cross

Maltese cross

The Maltese cross, also known as the Amalfi cross, is identified as the symbol of an order of Christian warriors known as the Knights Hospitaller or Knights of Malta and through them came to be identified with the Mediterranean island of Malta and is one of the National symbols of Malta...

 in programs and auction listings.

A number of American breeders, including the then-chairman of the American Jockey Club, William Woodward, Sr.

William Woodward, Sr.

William Woodward, Sr. was an American banker and major owner and breeder in thoroughbred horse racing.-Background:...

, lobbied hard throughout the 1930s to have the regulation removed. Woodward, and other defenders of the American bloodlines, argued that the racing performance of the horses proved their purity, even if they could not produce papers that did so. Woodward declared in 1935 that "If we do not get together, we will grow apart." Those arguing for keeping the Jersey Act in effect pointed out that the General Stud Book is a record of bloodlines, not a work recording racing ability.

The Jersey Act's major effect was the opposite of what was intended. In the years before the Second World War British and Irish breeders had relied on imported Thoroughbreds from France to enrich their breeding lines, a source that was unavailable during the war, and concerns were beginning to be expressed that the situation might lead to excessive inbreeding. Additionally, by the end of the war American-bred lines were some of the most successful racing lines in the world, effectively making the British and Irish breeding programmes that did not use them second-rate, and harming the rebuilding of English racing. There were even calls for the creation of an international stud book to record all Thoroughbred pedigrees, thus eliminating any perceived slight on the bloodlines that were excluded from the General Stud Book.

1949 amendment

Weatherbys, publishers of the Stud Book, approached the Jockey Club in 1948 to ask if it agreed that the Jersey Act was "too restrictive". The rule was subsequently modified in June 1949, after the racing careers of a number of horses such as Tourbillon

Tourbillon (horse)

Tourbillon was an French Thoroughbred racehorse and Champion sire. He was bred and raced by one of France's most prominent horsemen, Marcel Boussac...

 and Djebel

Djebel

Djebel was a French Thoroughbred racehorse, who won 15 of 22 races during 1939-1942 and was later a leading sire.-Breeding:Djebel was sired by Tourbillon, a stallion owned by Marcel Boussac, who had won the French Derby and the Prix Lupin, and went on to become a notable sire. Toubillon's dam-sire...

 persuaded the Jockey Club to reconsider. A number of French-bred Thoroughbreds began to race in England after the Second World War, but because they carried American lines they were considered half-breds. In 1948 two of England's five classic races were won by half-bred horses, My Babu

My Babu

My Babu was a French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who became one of the most influential sires in American breeding of show jumpers, eventers and hunters. His descendants include Bruce Davidson's former eventing mount JJ Babu, Anky van Grunsven's dressage horse Bonfire, and puissance and grand prix...

 and Black Tarquin, prompting the Jockey Club to amend the rule in the preface to the General Stud Book, to state that:

The amendment removed the stigma of not being considered purebred from American-bred horses. A major consideration was that by the late 1940s most of the horses with suspect pedigrees were so far back in most horses' ancestry that it no longer made much sense to exclude them. Neither did it make much sense to exclude some of the most successful racehorses in Europe from registration. Weatherby's further amended its regulations in 1969, introducing the word "thoroughbred" to describe the horses registered in previous volumes of the General Stud Book. In 2006, Blood-Horse Publications

Blood-Horse Publications

Blood-Horse Publications is an American multimedia publishing house focused on horse-related magazines.Blood-Horse Publications is located in Lexington, Kentucky. Their book-publishing arm is Eclipse Press...

, publisher of The Blood-Horse

The Blood-Horse magazine

The Blood-Horse is an international weekly news magazine about Thoroughbred horses, horse breeding, and horseracing. It was founded in 1916, the oldest continually published North American Thoroughbred magazine. The magazine is based in Lexington, Kentucky, the Horse Capital of the World...

magazine, chose the "repeal" of the Jersey Act as the 39th most important moment in American Thoroughbred horse racing history.