Horse racing has been a popular theme for game designers since at least the 1890s. Here's a sampling of the games horse racing fans have been able to enjoy through the years.
Grand National: A Sweepstakes Game of Chance
Featuring a copyright date of 1937, the box proclaims the game to be "complete with game * board * money * dice * horses * counters" and inside it indeed comes with all those parts. There are four horses -- red, blue, green and yellow -- in this game, which was released by Whitman Publishing Co.
Kentucky Derby Racing Game
This board game, which was published for decades with a copyright of 1938 (so not every game with this title was manufactured in 1938), featured five horses and a spinning wheel, all built into the box itself. The horses -- in one edition, Whirlaway, Citation, Twenty Grand, Seabiscuit and Gallant Fox (the names changed through the years) -- slide in a straight line from the start to the finish. Earlier games had metal horses; they were replaced by plastic in later versions. Also made by Whitman Publishing Co. and Rex Manufacturing Co.
Horse Racing Game
In 1940, Milton Bradley released this game, which also was played inside the box. (The inside of the bottom piece of the box was the game board.) Included with the game were a spinner and four chips. Also in 1940, Milton Bradley turned out a game called Hialeah Horse Racing Game. (Hialeah is a race track in Florida which hosted races from 1925 to 2001.)
Kentucky Derby Racing Game
Whitman Publishing Co. from Racine, Wisconsin, turned out a new version of the 1938 game in 1961 -- this one has seven horses. The game is still played on the inside of the box, with a spinner controlling the outcome. Instead of racing horizontally across the box, the horses move diagonally -- the race can be just a little bit longer that way.
Win Place & Show
3M published this board game in 1966 with the imprint "A 3M Sports Game." It's played on a board that's about three feet long, depicting an oval race track.
The Derby
This battery-powered game features six horses racing down a straightaway. The track is green (presumably for grass, although horses in the Kentucky Derby run on dirt) with bright orange lane dividers. The color scheme probably is plenty of proof that this game came from the 1970s.
Homestretch
A rather odd-looking game from Milton Bradley (circa 1974), as the horses involved all have long, stringy legs (Home*stretch* -- get it?). There's a spinner with the game, and the board is made up of squares that match the colors of the horses, so (without ever having played the game), my best guess is that it's a race game that has some similarities to an equine version of Twister.
Across the Board
From the game box (mismatched capitalization and all): "Buy a Thoroughbred at an Auction Then play him to Win, Place or Show at the Track." This board game came with about 300 different parts, published by MPH in 1975. The parts included play bills, handicap sheets, ownership cards, a "totalizer" and grease pencils. It appears that the game was played inside the game box.
Win Place & Show
This is a 1977 update of the 1966 3M game, now manufactured by Avalon Hill. Other than some cosmetic differences, the game looks very much the same as, if not identical to, the 3M version.
Sport of Kings Challenge - The Horse Racing Quiz Game
This game includes 4,400 trivia questions "to entertain followers of the world's #1 spectator sport." It was released in 1986 by Kuriakos.
Let's Go to the Races
This 1987 Parker Brothers game includes a 90-minute VCR tape with 40 different horse races. Eight horses are available, with an 8-sided die controlling at least some of the action. The back of the box looks as though it contains a great deal of information about the game.
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