De la caii de poștă la Jokey Club
From Post Horses to Jokey Club

Summary/Abstract: The horse was one of the most important animals in the life of the Romanians from all social classes, a real help in the everyday life of peasants, but also of city dwellers. The nobleman’s courts were invariably home to a veritable hive of horses, carriages and chariots. The treatment to which horses were subjected was sometimes harsh, sometimes mild. Horses were frequently used for hunting and for transporting passengers and goods.Mail service was one of the important uses of horses in the 19th century. Later on, stagecoaches were introduced to which about 8 to 10 horses were harnessed. Carriage horses were used in various cities and in the capital. The owners of the fancy carriage horses made sure that they were good-looking and healthy: that they had enough food available. The Muscals/Russians introduced enclosed carriages, two-door coupes with windows, and stairs with a step or two to make getting in and out easier. The tramcar was a vehicle resembling a covered horse-drawn truck that could carry 8–14 people and traveled a fixed route at certain times.The great love for horses of the high society of Bucharest, as well as the openness of the Romanian society towards the West led to the creation of the Romanian Jockey Club in the second half of the 19th century. Its honorary president was King Carol I. The main founders of the Jockey Club were Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, Petru Mavrogheni, Adolf Cantacuzino, Lascăr Catargiu, Ioan Ghika, Dimitrie Ghika, Nicolae Golescu, Mihail Kogălniceanu, Alexandru Știrbey and Constantin Grădișteanu. They were joined by Alexandru Marghiloman, one of the most passionate horse breeders of that period. The first big meeting of the Jokey Club took place on October 12, 1875, on the Floreasca Racecourse, where the first gallop race was organized. In general, gallop races were held on Thursdays and Sundays, and trotting races on Wednesdays and Saturdays. In winter, gallop races were suspended, but horse-drawn sleigh races were organized on the tracks of Băneasa Trap.In 1946, Petru Groza’s patriotic guards vandalized the Jokey Club’s headquarters, and the building was given other uses (restaurant, headquarters of the Union of Architects, closed circuit shop, etc.) The racecourse also met a tragic fate, being totally demolished with all the facilities it had.

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