...others will take an interest, too. Thank you for your kindness.

In America in the 1960s. Obviously a lot of other gambling outlets came along. But I think too we've just lost touch with these wonderful animals who used to play a central part in our lives.
The first horse race I ever went to was a Belmont Stakes race in the mid 1980s. I've never heard anything like the roar of the crowd when the horses broke from the gate. I've been to a lot of races since.
The racing game has its problems, but for thousands of years horses have loved to run against each other. It's a beautiful sport.
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starting to come on. Boxing and college football were also popular but baseball was still king.

Racetracks that ran programs every day and a lot of people attended. I'll try to research it tomorrow.

I think the issue gets confused with in person attendance as opposed to tv audience. For what it's worth I found this source which claims, if you read far enough, that horse racing in person attendance was greater than baseball into the 1970s

https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports-and-everyday-life/sports/sports/horse-racing