Johannes Evert Akkeringa artwork • painting • for sale At the horseraces at Clingendael

The Ascot of the Low Countries Hart racing, speed skating and sailing were the three major national entertainments in Holland and Friesland at the end of the 19th century. In contrast to horse racing in England, which was dominated by the element of gambling, in the Netherlands it was about trotting where people had more fun and suffered less (financially) ruin. From 1882 onwards, horse racing enthusiasts could go to the country's first real racecourse. Baron van Brienen brought Dutch society to his 'Ascot of the Low Countries' at his country estate Clingendael in the dunes near Wassenaar. Members of the Royal Family were happy to show up. In 1898, the year in which Akkeringa's Bij de wedrennen was probably painted, the estate was even the chosen location for a national sports demonstration as the conclusion of the coronation festivities of Queen Wilhelmina.