As with so many aspects of our national social and economic fabric, the origin of horse breeding and racing can be traced back to Virginia. In 1608 Sir Thomas Dale imported seventeen horses to Jamestown to replace the few horses which the original settlers had been forced to slaughter for food during their first winter in the New World. Importation continued throughout the colonial period and Virginia could be considered as the center of racing during this era.

Racing was originally conducted through the streets in the towns and villages, but as this practice created a potential source of danger for pedestrians, race paths were later established on the outskirts of population centers. Frequently such paths were adjacent to churches; the local ministers proving to be honest and reliable officials for racing events. One such example was James Blair who was termed the "Father of the Virginia Turf." Dr. Blair was the founder of the College of William and Mary, the Bishop of London's Commissary to the Crown Colony of Virginia, a long-standing member of the Governor's Council and minister of the Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg. It is indeed significant that a gentleman of this stature should have presided over the early days of racing in Virginia. Other famous Virginians associated with Virginia's racing history are George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Both men bred horses and raced them at meets, on occasion against each other.

Tracks proliferated throughout the Commonwealth, but poor economic conditions which preceded the Civil War and worsened thereafter harmed the racing industry. Before the war, the South's prosperity followed the cotton migration to the west; while the tobacco-exhausted land of Virginia no longer allowed for agricultural success. The war itself caused tremendous devastation and ruin to the Virginia economy. The horse industry was a casualty of this time.

Despite its early beginnings in Virginia, horse racing suffered its greatest setback in the middle of the 19th Century when an item was inserted in the Constitution prohibiting lotteries. The sport of racing in Virginia was thus denied the considerable benefits achieved by a system of pari-mutuel wagering, introduced into the United States from France in 1877.

Under the pari-mutuel method, an equitable system of wagering is assured as the participants govern the odds. Each person who wishes to place a bet may do so in whatever amount he deems advisable. Those who have wagered on the front runners share in the total stakes, less those portions due to the race-track management and the state. From the management's share of the stakes is subtracted not only the cost of its operations, but also the purses which act as the incentive and means of allowing successful horse breeding. This share which ultimately goes to the horse owners and breeders is especially important as it helps defray the high costs of raising and training fine horses. Successful horse racing today cannot be conducted without such financial support.

The Constitution of 1902 perpetuated in section 60 the anti-lottery provision of earlier Constitutions; however, in the constitutional revision effective July 1, 1971, the provision was deleted. Consequently, the power to decide whether certain forms of wagering should be permitted has come to rest with the General Assembly.