the lower orders was risked on their favourite amusement, that it was deemed prudent to put a stop to the petty races which took place in almost every village, and to the dissipation consequent thereon. In the year 1740 these village races appeared to have reached their height; a class of persons had sprung up whose sole means of livelihood rested on the success of hacks, ponies, and asses, which they kept merely for the purpose of running, every means was resorted to to raise money for the prizes. The publicans, who were amongst the chief promoters, were far from inattentive to their own interests, and a usual condition was, that horses intending to run must be kept for a week previously at the houses of one or other of these caterers; whilst, on the other hand, no person was allowed to sell ale or spirits on the course who was not a subscriber to the plates. With a view, therefore, of annihilating this species of sport, an Act was passed in the 13th of George the Second, by which, amongst other things, racing was prohibited for a less sum than £50, except on the Courses of Newmarket and Black Hamilton, under penalty of £200; and any person advertising races for a less sum was subjected to a penalty of £100. The effect of these regulations was immediately apparent, for on looking over a provincial paper of that date (The Newcastle Courant), it appears that the number of races advertised in 1739 was thirty-six (having increased, within ten years, from twenty-six, whereas in 1741 they only amounted to six. The propriety of thus curtailing the amusements of the lower classes has been frequently disputed; but this act produced another effect, which, though not contemplated

VOL. II.

by its authors, proved of the greatest possible benefit to those races which were continued. The plates were in some instances so low as three, five, and eight pounds, and in a majority of cases did not exceed ten, fifteen, or twenty, which, having perforce to be raised to £50, produced the most extraordinary exertions from the lovers of the turf to procure the requisite supply, and the increase in value made it worth the while of persons possessing firstrate horses to send them to places at which nothing but the most wretched hacks had previously appeared.

This result was not, of course, immediately apparent, for in many places it was found impossible at once to raise the ways and means, and the races were for a few years suspended; but if we examine the Racing Calendar twenty years afterwards we shall find the country races at least as well supported as at present, and rather more numerous, Newmarket keeping, as it always must do, the lead amongst the races of the South, whilst York stood "Facile Princeps" in the North. Black Hamilton, or Hambledon, so long celebrated as the second Racing Meeting in the kingdom, but which long before this period had been on the decline, was now unable to raise the requisite supplies to keep up any part of its former conse quence, and after thirty years' struggling with fate, at length ceased to exist at all as a place of sport-the King's Plate, which had for some years been its sole support, being transferred to be contended for alternately at York and at Richmond. Since the establish ment of the spring meeting at the former place, this plate has been assigned to it on those years on which it belongs to York. The only other King's Plate which has

2 A

been taken away was, most deservedly, from Burford, in Oxfordshire, and it would be well if they were withdrawn in all instances where, with that assistance, a tolerable show of sport is not kept up, and transferred to others which would afford better proof of the Royal bounty. Doncaster has now usurped the supremacy so long held by York, whilst Epsom has become the friendly competitor of Newmarket. The large amount both of fame and money to be acquired at the greater races, has had a most injurious tendency as regards the others, and a good horse is hardly allowed to show himself at any of the minor races, lest he should hurt his chance of success at Epsom or Doncaster. Some spirited attempts have, indeed, been lately made to reinstate the York races in their former position, but not as yet with the desired success. This is not an object in which York alone is interested, for it is obvious that it would be greatly to the advantage of all the northern counties to remove the great objects of attraction from a place so little central as Doncaster, or, at all events, that York should possess a fair share. The more northern races have deteriorated still more. Newcastle, Durham, and Carlisle are miserably supported, and Richmond is entirely maintained by horses trained in the immediate neighbourhood. Beverley is by great exertions kept from going down altogether, as has been the case at Hull and several other considerable places. The north of England has also suffered greatly from the falling of the Scotch turf, which has, within a few years, lost a number of supporters whom it would be difficult to replace. There is, however, no reason to despair of the complete renovation of country racing generally and

we advise our sporting friends, instead of looking dispiritedly back to former times, to put their shoulders to the wheel, and contrive what can be done to improve the present.

The weights to be carried by horses were in the first instance very little attended to, and in general depended upon the greater or less size and corpulency of their owners; but when regular jockeys were employed, 10st. appears to have been the usual weight, and this we find to be the regulation for the two most ancient King's Plates, viz. at Newmarket and Black Hamilton. The object of the King's Plates being to encourage the breed of strong and useful horses, 12st. was afterwards considered preferable; and the ten next plates which were granted were for horses carrying that weight. weight. After the middle of the last century, however, it became obvious that with such a burthen the race was not always to the fleetest, and accordingly, in 1770, we find of the more recent plates, one of 10st., one of 9st. 12lbs., two of 9st., and two of 8st. 7lbs., the last of which weights was also assigned to the Chelmsford Plate, given a few years afterwards. The only other grants during the last century were to Ascot (for hunters), to Warwick, and to the Caledonian Hunt, each for horses carrying 12st. Since that period great alterations have been made as well in the weights as in the other conditions of the King's Plates, a recapitulation of which would be tedious; and new plates have been granted to Chester, Doncaster, and Manchester. The weights for other races were reduced at a much earlier period than for the King's Plates, and little alteration has taken place in this respect for the last fifty or sixty years. Formerly a single heat was considered

a sufficient criterion of a horse's speed and strength; and at no time has the system of running heats prevailed at Newmarket, except for two of the King's Plates and a plate given by the town. The killing exercise of running three, four, and five heats, seems to have been introduced for the sake of making the most running at the least expense; and till up to nearly the end of the last century was, with the exception before stated of Newmarket, almost universal. All the King's Plates, with the exception of two, were in heats, three-fourths of them of four miles each.

The people of the present day, however, attach more importance to the quality than the quantity of the running, and a few Maiden Plates and such like, with a dozen of the Royal Purses, are the only examples of this absurd system, and these, too, chiefly at the third and fourth-rate meetings. The distances also have been cut down from four miles to two, one and a half, and one, and this is pretty generally the case even where heats are continued.

The greatest change, however, in the racing of modern times, is in the age at which the horses are brought out. Formerly they were not put into training till four years old, and frequently later; whereas they now figure on the turf as

This,

yearlings. Whether this is a change for the better has frequently been a matter of dispute; but it at all events shows the great superiority of the training of the present day over that of the last century. It is, however, a matter of regret that the great prizes are almost exclusively confined to two and three year olds, and all that is left for those of maturer age, is the empty honour of picking up a few cups in the country. however, has also its advantage, for, from no inducement being held out to keep a horse too long in training, mares are put to much younger horses than formerly, and so the probability of superiority in the produce is greatly increased. It is difficult to conceive that the science of the turf can be brought to greater perfection than at present, and few subjects give a more cheering view of what human skill and perseverance can effeet than to look back at the various improvements which have taken place in the most useful of our domestic animals; nor can anything be more satisfactory in the lover of the turf than to consider that whilst he pursues his own fa vourite amusement, he adds most essentially to the prosperity of his country, by keeping up a constant supply of horses such as no nation. on the earth can parallel.-From the-New Sporting Magazine.

We understand that the great day (the 15th ult.) for closing the most interesting races of the ensuing meeting terminated more auspiciously than had been anticipated; for, although the meeting was but thinly attended, still the entrances were sufficient

ly numerous to keep up the spirit

of the turf.

Horses named for the Cham

SIR,

Oscar.

"Tis but a short time ago, when out on a hog-hunting expedition with some friends, that I experienced the following terrific vision, from the effects of which, I am afraid, I shall never recover. Fatigued with a severe day's work, during the course of which I had mercilessly slaughtered four small pigs, which (to use a vulgar expression) I caught, on a midhan, with "their tails up; and being rendered somewhat somniferous by the contents of five bottles of Hodgson's, which I had swallowed in celebration of this

exploit, I lay down in the cool shade of some trees near our encampment, and fell into a deep slumber.

Methought my soul had departed from its earthly tenement (or, more concisely speaking, I had "kicked the bucket"), and found myself standing with others in the same situation, at the gates of Elysium. Minos, whom I immediately recognized (from the descriptions given of him from time immemorial), was seated in state on the right of the gate, and decided on the merits and demerits of each person, as they