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From today's featured article
Lexington, a racehorse whose pedigree was suspect in the eyes of British racing
authorities
Lexington, a racehorse whose pedigree was suspect
The Jersey Act was a 1913 regulation by the British Jockey Club and the owners o
f the General Stud Book that prevented most American-bred Thoroughbred horses fr
om registering with them. It was intended to halt the increasing importation of
racehorses of possibly impure bloodlines after a series of bans on gambling by U
S states, including gambling on horse races. The loss of breeding records during
the American Civil War and the late beginning of the registration of American T
horoughbreds led many in the British racing establishment to doubt that the Amer
ican-bred horses were purebred. The Act prohibited the registration of horses un
less all of their Thoroughbred ancestors had been registered. Despite protests f
rom American breeders the regulation was in force until 1949. By then, ineligibl
e horses were increasingly successful in races in Europe, British and Irish bree
ders had lost access to French Thoroughbreds during and after the Second World W
ar, and any impure ancestors of the American bloodlines had receded far back in
most horses' ancestry. (Full article...)
Recently featured:
The Monster (novella) Dover Athletic F.C. Kalki Koechlin
Archive By email More featured articles...
Did you know...
Female hen flea
Female hen flea
... that more than 5,000 hen fleas (specimen pictured) were recorded from th
e nest of a coal tit?
... that Elisheva Barak-Ussoskin's rulings on labor law and labor relations
were said to have furthered the rights of workers more than those of any other I
sraeli judge?
... that under the terms of a 1931 bequest to the University of Washington,
if the university president does not live at Hill-Crest, the property must be so
ld?
... that Swedish radio presenter Roger Nordin revealed during a live broadca
st in 2005 that he was homosexual?

... that the idea for Disney's MagicBands came from a magnetic therapy brace
let found in SkyMall?
... that the constellation Corvus was depicted as a raven as early as 1100 B
CE in Babylonia?
... that Fred Pfeffer, Tom Burns, and Ned Williamson each had three hits in
the same inning of an 1883 major-league baseball game, and no other player had a
three-hit inning until 1953?
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In the news
The Danube, frozen amid a cold snap in Europe
The Danube on January 9
A cold wave affecting Eastern and Central Europe (frozen Danube pictured) ca
uses more than 60 deaths.
La La Land wins a record-breaking seven awards at the Golden Globe Awards.
An attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, during New Year's celebrations
, kills at least 39 people and injures more than 70 others.
American actress, screenwriter, and author Carrie Fisher dies at the age of
60, and her mother, actress and singer Debbie Reynolds, dies one day later at th
e age of 84.
Ongoing:
Battle of Mosul
Recent deaths:
Graham Taylor Oliver Smithies Clare Hollingworth Michael Chamberlain
On this day...
January 13: St. Knut's Day in Finland and Sweden
Steve Ballmer in 2010
Steve Ballmer
French Revolutionary Wars: A naval battle off the coast of Brittany bet
1797
ween two British frigates and a French ship of the line ended with over 900 deat
hs when the latter ran aground.
1910 The first public radio broadcast, a live performance of Cavalleria rust
icana from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, was sent over the airw
aves.
1915 About 30,000 people in Avezzano, Italy 96% of its population were killed wh
en an earthquake struck the region.
1968 American singer Johnny Cash recorded his landmark album At Folsom Priso
n live at the Folsom State Prison in California.
2000 Steve Ballmer (pictured) replaced Bill Gates as Chief Executive Off