The Forgotten Origins of Politics in Sports

Published: Jan. 4, 2018, 12:34 p.m.

b'In 1832, horse racing was by far America\\u2019s most popular spectator sport. So when horses named Andrew Jackson and Nullifier appeared at the same racetrack in Richmond, Virginia, thousands of people saw their sporting and political interests overlap. The horses\\u2019 names reflected the most divisive political debate of the year, a constitutional crisis over \\u201cnullification.'