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Five (Six aged Three Miles)

six, & aged Three Miles.

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Six & aged 9 τo RACING] managers of race meetings, but is not intended to be imperative, especially as regards the weights of two- and three-yearolds relatively to the old horses in selling races early in the year.

It is founded on the scale published by Admiral Rous, and revised by him in 1873, but has been modified in accordance with suggestions from the principal trainers and practical authorities. “ TIME. Occasionally in reports of races a comment is appended to the effect that the time was so many minutes, seconds, and fifths of seconds. If the figures happen to be accurate, they are utterly worthless for all practical purposes. The accuracy is to be doubted, because not seldom the time is found to vary on different watches. Of course, it is obvious that the animal who really covers a given distance in exceptionally short time must have great speed. No one can deny that. But the utter worthlessness of the "time test" is proved by the circumstance that horses who are unquestionably bad have very frequently won races in better time than that taken by horses universally acknowledged to be of the very first rank. The object of a race is not to accomplish the distance in the least possible time, but to arrive first at the winning-post.

Nothing is more common than to read that some good horse has won in a canter."

If he had galloped his best, it is obvious that his time would have been considerably shorter. The fallaciousness of the "test" is further increased by differences in the going and in the nature of courses. If the turf be deep and holding, horses are likely to take longer than they would if they were galloping "on the top of the ground," and five furlongs down the hill at Epsom or at Brighton is a speedier business than up the hill at Ascot or to the finish of the Bunbury Mile, on the July course at Newmarket.

Examples bearing on this have not seldom been quoted, but may be repeated here. Galopin, one of the very best horses that ever won the Derby, took 2 min. 48 sec.; Signorinetta, one of the very worst, took 2 min. 39 sec. Wheel of Fortune, one of the best mares ever known, took 3 min. 2 sec. to win the Oaks; the flying Pretty Polly took 2 min. 45 sec.; Glass Doll, a very common filly, 2 min. 42 sec. The mighty Ormonde's Leger time was 3 min. 21 sec.; Challacombe, a most moderate specimen, occupied 3 min. 5 sec. in doing the distance. These instances will probably suffice. "The watch" is of service in showing whether a two-year-old has speed, whether he can cover five furlongs in such time as to suggest his ability to race with good prospects; but it has been found in many years' experience that a carefully chosen trial horse will give the same assurance. As an almost universal rule, to take (or attempt to take) the time of a race and to draw deductions from it is an utterly futile proceeding.

THE JOCKEY CLUB.-The Jockey Club, an association of noblemen and gentlemen dating from 1751, gradually became the supreme authority and the governing body of the Turf. The control of racing exercised by the Club is absolute. The Rules of Racing have been drawn up by the members with such continual additions and alterations as circumstances have seemed to demand, and adherence to them is rigidly enforced, offences against them being visited by fines of various amounts, and penalties which may effectually prevent those by whom they are incurred from running horses or taking any part in the sport; for horses may be disqualified from racing under Jockey Club Rules if, for instance, their owners are found guilty of corrupt practices, or if they run at unauthorised meetings, that is to say, meetings not under Rules; and men may be warned off Newmarket Heath and other places where the Rules are in force, as, in fact, they practically are at every place where a thoroughbred horse is at all likely to run. During the off season, when there is no regular flat racing, and in connection with steeplechases, hurdle-races, and a few other contests when flat racing is in progress, the National Hunt Committee is the governing body; but this is in close relation with the Jockey Club, and may be said to execute a delegated power. The seasons used to be distinguished as the "legitimate" and "illegitimate," but the expressions are obsolete. All officials-clerks of the course, handicappers, stakeholders, clerks of the scales, starters, and judges-must receive licences from the Stewards before they can act, as must all jockeys. Election to the Club is by ballot: nine members must be present and two black balls exclude. The affairs of the Club are actively directed by three Stewards, the senior of whom retires annually, and is replaced in the spring by some energetic member who has been recommended by the retiring Steward and has consented to act. The Stewards have much more work to do than is usually imagined.

Arranging the dates of meetings for the following year is by itself a most troublesome business, for it involves an infinity of correspondence. It rarely happens that charges are not annually brought, openly or anonymously, against owners, trainers, and jockeys; and the Stewards have the task of investigating what they come to hear in one way or another, and of considering whether to renew the training and riding licences. The attendance of the Stewards at Messrs. Weatherby's offices is constantly requested; indeed, there is always pressing business demanding their attention. The three Stewards of the Jockey Club are Stewards of all races run at Newmarket, and are also, cx officio, Stewards of Epsom, Ascot, and Goodwood; in conjunction with the Jockey Club Estate Committee they have complete possession and control of the property and estates of the Club, and the management of the course and the training and trial grounds at Newmarket is in their hands.

There is practically no appeal from them for men convicted of offences against the Rules of Racing. On a few occasions the common law has been invoked, but with no satisfactory result to those who have thus taken measures against the Club. The Stewards are frequently grumbled at for what they either do or fail to do, their action having very likely been influenced by excellent reasons of which the fault-finders can know nothing; but the most absolute confidence is reposed in their earnest desire to do their best for the sport. Their powers are great; for to be "warned off" not only prevents a man from visiting Newmarket Heath or entering any ring or enclosure at a race meeting, but involves a social stigma which irreparably ruins character; and, to make the penalty more sweeping, the warning off is usually reported to the National Hunt Committee, and various foreign Jockey Clubs, by which it is extended to meetings under their control.

Racing Officials. The duties of the various officials need not be stated here at length. That a HANDICAPPER should give general satisfaction is, of course, not for a moment to be expected, as there are many owners who do not really want a handicap with which no fault can be found, but a compilation of weights which gives their horses an advantage. Palpable blunders in the chief handicaps are rare.

For years past the weights have been compiled by a Committee of three, each of whom makes his own handicap, after which they meet, compare, and adjust differences. Mistakes arise, for the most part, from too close an adherence to book form with no special knowledge behind it. Roguery is less common than is usually supposed, but a few owners and trainers, aided by dishonest [RACING jockeys, do at times run horses for the purpose of deceiving handicappers, so that the animals, having been to all appearance easily beaten, may have less to carry on future occasions.

The JUDGE must be in his box when the horses pass the post. He carefully scrutinises the approaching field through his glasses, takes in generally the positions of the leading horses, puts down his glass when the leaders are near at hand, and so notes precisely how the first three at leastusually the fourth, and occasionally others -pass the imaginary line between his box and the winning post. He can see infinitely better than anyone else how the horses finish; and though there are legends of judges having made mistakes in short-head verdicts, the chances are that their decisions have been correct. There is reason to suppose that once or twice a blunder has occurred, and never been protested against, when a horse, out by himself, has been an easy winner, but has come up on one side of the course under the box of a judge whose attention has been fixed upon two or three others on the opposite side fighting out what he has mistaken for the finish. On one occasion there was nearly being no verdict at all. The late Judge Clark, a wholly admirable occupant of the position-though he took no sort of interest in horses or any other animals, and occupied his leisure hours in the study of ecclesiastical architecture— went fast asleep one hot summer's afternoon at Goodwood when the horses were at the post for the Stewards' Cup. He gazed over the shimmering landscape before him till he dozed away, to be suddenly aroused by a happily observant policeman, who shook him up to consciousness just when the field had reached the distance, so that he had time to fulfil his duties. Only men who have hoped, feared, and anticipated much from the result of a race can realise what those most deeply interested in the winner would have felt had it been declared that the race was void and must be run again, as would have been inevitable. When there are objections to winners on the ground of crossing, jostling, bumping, or anything that has occurred in the course of the race, the evidence of the judge is sought, and always carries great weight with the Stewards.

Very often after a close race only the judge can say for certain which has won, and the spectators wait with the utmost tension of anxiety to see what number he has instructed his assistant to hoist in the frame; or possibly it may be no number at all, but the "o o," which stands for a deadheat.

RACING] The STARTER'S duties have scarcely been lightened by the introduction of the "starting machine," a colonial invention, first tried in this country in 1897, which still has warm advocates and no less energetic opponents. There is usually less delay at the post than under the old system of starting with a flag; so much must certainly be admitted; but good starts are by no means assured by the employment of the contrivance. Some horses never take to it kindly.

Of late years the starting gate has quite superseded the old-fashioned flag start in walking up to take their places. The Stewards of the Jockey Club have made exhaustive inquiries, with the result that they have convinced themselves the walk-up start would not prove successful, though it is freely admitted that some animals cannot jump off from a stand, whilst others are able to do so with the utmost celerity, and there can be no question that therefore the standing start is not equally fair for all. The problem remains in a somewhat unsatisfactory condition. In races under National Hunt Rules the flag start is still the custom.

JOCKEY CLUB ROOMS, NEWMARKET. all races under Jockey Club Rules, or in all but the Goodwood Cup, which is exempt for the reason that the horses in a race of two miles and a half can quite well be got away without a gate, especially as there are always so few, and it would not be worth while to erect a machine for this one event.

The so-called "gate" consists of a couple of pieces of webbing stretched between two upright posts, so contrived that the webbings fly up when the starter releases them by electricity. Various new gates have been invented, and it is not considered that the one now in vogue is perfect. Discussion periodically arises as to the desirability of allowing what is called a walk-up start.

Now the horses must be standing at the barrier when they are sent on their wayor so the rules require-for starters at times do let them go when some of them are just VOL. III [Photograph by Sport & General.

The CLERK OF THE SCALES is on duty in the weighing room, his business being to weigh every jockey who is going to ride, and make out a list of those competing.

The jockeys declare their weights as they take their places in the scales, and he sees if they draw the amount. After the race he again weighs the riders of the horses that have been placed by the judge, putting an extra 2 lb. in the scale to prove that the horse has not carried too much. Jockeys, of course, weigh with their saddle and weight cloths, and, if they do not quite turn the beam, the bridle may be sent for to ascertain if that will make up the necessary difference. Sometimes rain increases their weights, so that they draw too much, but in these cases the Stewards give permission to pass the extra.

The CLERK OF THE COURSE is responsible for the general arrangements of the meeting at which he officiates. He must see that the distances of the course are correctly measured and marked, though this is not often a source of trouble, as the various posts on most courses have stood for many years. A more pressing duty is the publication of cards of the races. He must also engage officials, and see that the meeting is provided with Stewards. Very often those who have consented to act neither appear nor send any intimation of their inability to attend, and the Clerk of the Course is hard put to it to find suitable substitutes. STEWARDS may for convenience be here included. They are appointed to fulfil duties which they very often perform in a perfunctory manner or not seldom entirely neglect-occasionally from ignorance; for clerks of courses are apt to invite distinguished persons to act as stewards because they are locally popular or important, and notwithstanding the fact that they know nothing of the sport they are requested to control. There must be at least two stewards, whose task it is to see that in all respects the Rules of Racing are observed and obeyed; and some knowledge of these Rules is obviously essential. Any disputes which arise are submitted to the stewards, who seek the best evidence obtainable, and act accordingly. If an owner or jockey makes an objection for foul riding, bumping, or some such offence, intentional or unintentional, the stewards hear what he has to say, examine other jockeys who have ridden in the race, obtain the judge's version of the affair, and sustain or overrule the objection as they may consider just. They may suspend an offender for the rest of the meeting, and inflict fines. When serious offences are committed, the stewards of meetings usually report the matter to the Stewards of the Jockey Club, who investigate the subject, and, if proof be forthcoming, sentence the culprits to such penalties as they decide will meet the justice of the case. If stewards of meetings did with more strictness what they were appointed to do, there would be much less scandal and suspicion than are at present found on the Turf. One does not want a steward to be fussy and unnecessarily prone to investigate; but there are occasions when horses or their riders perform oddly, when perhaps the betting has foreshadowed or suggested something suspicious, and when after the race shrewd and experienced men-not the foolish public who generally lose their temper when they lose their money, and immediately proclaim their certain conviction [RACING that a robbery has been committed, but coolheaded men who know what racing is-are deliberately of opinion that dishonesty has been practised. Stewards not seldom hear such whispers if the comments are confined to whisperings-and do nothing. There may be, there often is, a simple explanation of what has seemed inexplicable except on the ground of roguery; and if only to clear characters that are besmirched the Stewards should inquire into such cases; especially as, if they feel themselves unable to decide, they can always report the matter to the Stewards of the Jockey Club, leaving the onus of decision on them.

MESSRS. WEATHERBY. The name of Messrs. Weatherby occurs more than once in this article, and a few words must be added about the firm. Messrs. Weatherby are the active agents of the Jockey Club, the connection having apparently arisen from the fact that in the year 1773 a Mr. James Weatherby first published the Racing Calendar, which became the official organ of the Club. The Sheet Calendar, which comes out every Thursday afternoon, and occasionally at other times also, contains records of all races run since the previous issue (including sport under National Hunt Rules), programmes of races to come. notices and orders of the Jockey Club, lists of licensed jockeys, &c., the forfeit lists, and, indeed, all matters which the Club desire to make known. There are also Monthly Calendars and Book Calendars; a volume of "Races Past" and another of "Races to Come" are published annually: and at irregular periods Messrs. Weatherby add to their already long array of volumes of the "Stud Book," which gives the pedigree of every thoroughbred foal destined to race or to be prepared with a hope that he may be able to do so. "Not in the Stud Book" is equivalent to not thoroughbred.

Messrs. Weatherby keep what is known as the Registry Office," and matters too numerous to mention pass through their hands. Before a horse's name is registered it must be sent to their office; and they have authority, delegated by the Jockey Club, to reject it if there is another animal with a similar name, so that the existence of the two might cause confusion. They receive entries for almost all races, and charge fees for their services. But the firm has other functions besides those which arise from their agency to the Jockey Club. They act as bankers for the great majority of owners. and certainly save them an infinity of trouble. It would be a serious business if every owner had to send cheques for his entrance and forfeits, collect his own win- 66 RACING] nings from stakeholders, pay jockeys, and so on. Messrs. Weatherby do all this for their clients. When a man " goes on the Turf" it is customary for him to start an account with Messrs. Weatherby (one or two other firms seek the same sort of business) by paying in a sum of money; all forfeits, entrances, &c., are then paid for him as long as the money lasts, and his winnings are put to his credit. He may win so much that he can draw money for private use, or he may have to replenish his account. Some member of the firm has almost always, if not invariably, filled the position of "Keeper of the Match Book," his business being to receive the stakes and collect entrance money and all other funds belonging to the Club, and he is entitled to charge half-a-crown for every horse entered to run at Newmarket. Once a year, shortly before the Derby, he makes a handicap of the chief three-year-olds, thus giving an opinion as to their relative merit. Until a few years since, Messrs. Weatherby were handicappers to the Jockey Club, but they resigned. over 3,000 JOCKEYS.-Considerably horses run every year in England. The number in 1910 was 3,875, and almost all these horses have their own boys, who ride at exercise, and, as the phrase goes, "do" them, that is to say, groom and attend to them in their stables. Nearly all these boys are at any rate able to perform the elementary duty of sitting tight on a thoroughbred horse-a wiry, eel-like animal, given to antics which would be very liable frequently to displace an inexperienced rider. The boys constantly have opportunities of learning much about pace, and keen-eyed trainers are always on the alert to discover those who show any real skill in horsemanship. When symptoms of ability are perceived the boy is put up to ride trials, races on the home training ground, from which duty, in the ordinary course of events, he should learn much; and if he displays any promise, and his weight is suitable, he is tolerably sure to be given a mount in public. Out of all this multitude of boys, however, an extremely small percentage ever blossom into jockeys, and there are usually fewer than half-a-dozen of these so far ahead of their compeers that they practically command what terms they like. As much as £5,000 a year has been given for the first call on a leading jockey; for every race he rode he would have been paid in the ordinary course of events, in addition to his retaining fee, three guineas for a losing mount, and five guineas for a win. The owner who had the first call on him would, of course, only have utilised his services on occasions; at many meetings he would have had no horses running, and that would leave the jockey free to accept other mounts. As a matter of fact, large sums are paid for second and third claims on a successful jockey. One of the leading horsemen not long since refused £1,500 a year for a second claim. It will be seen what handsome rewards await success in this profession; and it may also be judged how rare is the combination of qualities which ensure it. A jockey must have in the first place a very accurate knowledge of pace; he must know how fast his horse is going, so that though at times he is in front he may still be "waiting"; he must also be able to sum up at a glance what the other horses in a race are doing, what, in fact, they have left in them for the finish.

He must have patience, and at the same time must ride with resolution, noting the psychological moment when his effort has to be made. If he waits too long he will be beaten, and if he comes too soon he may fail by exhausting his horse just before the post is reached. When it is considered what success in a race means, the mere difference of a few inches, whether the horse just wins or just loses, the skill which affects results will be appreciated; races on the flat may be worth any sum from £100, the smallest amount permitted by the Rules of Racing, up to £10,000. In many cases owners have bets which amount to thousands more, and in addition to these there is the enormously increased value of the horse which has the reputation of having won a great race. a A few names stand out among recent or contemporary riders whose styles were in many cases widely different but who attained the same admirable successes. It may be noted that the leading jockeys for many years past have, as a rule, averaged about one win in four mounts. In some cases this has been exceeded, as it was notably by the late Fred Archer, though at the same time it must be remembered that he had a great advantage, inasmuch as owners were always eager to secure his services. If they thought their horses had a good chance of winning they were anxious to engage Archer, unless, of course, they had at command the services of one of his few capable rivals. During one year, when Archer rode an enormous number of races, from 600 to 700, his victories averaged two in five. He possessed one of the chief secrets of his profession, the ability DD 2 to understand the peculiarities of the various horses he rode. His principal fault was extreme severity; what might happen to a horse afterwards appeared to be no concern of his; his mind was set on winning the race he was at the moment contesting, and not a few two-year-olds on whom he had won were good for very little afterwards, his whip and spur having taken all the heart out of them. At the same time, if he could persuade a horse instead of coercing him he would do so. On one occasion at Sandown, in a five-furlong race, before the distance had been half covered he leant forward and patted the neck of his horse; his quick eye had already assured him, even at that early point of the struggle, that he had nothing to fear from any of his opponents. His method of sitting back, and as it were driving his horse before him, was in striking contrast to that of his great rival,