The Pharsalia Race Course in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

was established around 1790 in what was then

Spanish West Florida Spanish West Florida ( Spanish: ''Florida Occidental'') was a province of the Spanish Empire from 1783 until 1821, when both it and East Florida were ceded to the United States. The region of West Florida initially had the same borders as the e ...

. Pharsalia Race Course was considered the premier horse racing venue in Mississippi prior to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Description

The owners of the horses and members of the associated jockey club were drawn from the local planter elite. The leading breeders of horses raced at the track prior to the American Civil War were the families of James Surget,

William J. Minor Captain William J. Minor (January 27, 1808 – September 18, 1869) was an American planter, enslaver, and banker in the Antebellum era, antebellum Southern United States. Educated in Philadelphia, he lived at the Concord (Natchez, Mississippi), C ...

, and Adam L. Bingaman, as well as "those of

Duncan F. Kenner Duncan Farrar Kenner (February 11, 1813 – July 3, 1887) was an American politician who served as a Deputy from Louisiana to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1862. In 1864, he served as the chief diplomat from the ...

and the Wells' and others from Louisiana." As was the case elsewhere in the South, the

jockeys A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

and grooms were enslaved and Black, and horses and slaves alike were used for stakes. Pharsalia was best known for two-mile and four-mile heats. According to a 1905 history, "Natchez had its full meeting every year. It would run for four days. There was no

bookmaking A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays out bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Harry Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795, although similar a ...

and the purses were subscribed. Owners would bet between themselves and all betting was man to man. A man's word was all sufficient to make a bet stand. The track was on the Washington road, where Marron's cotton field is located...The track was run by J. B. Pryor, who was brought here from Tennessee as a trainer for Col. A. L. Bingaman." The track was first known as the St. Catherine's Course, for its location near St. Catherine's Creek, or the Toll Bridge Turf, being near the toll bridge on the road between

Natchez Natchez may refer to: Places * Natchez, Alabama, United States * Natchez, Indiana, United States * Natchez, Louisiana, United States * Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States ** Natchez slave market, Mississippi * ...

and

Washington, Mississippi Washington is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Adams County, Mississippi, Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Located along the lower Mississippi River, Mississippi, east of Natchez, Mississippi, Natchez, it was the sec ...

. The later name was a nod to the Pharsalus battleground in Greece. One of the prizes awarded for winning a race at this track was called the Pharsalia Plate; it survived as a physical prize until the 20th century in part because it had been buried on a sugar plantation during the war. By 1920 all evidence of Pharsalia had vanished and the land had become a "plantation on the outskirts of town."

References

{{reflist Adams County, Mississippi Horse racing venues in Mississippi Defunct sports venues in Mississippi History of Natchez, Mississippi