HORSE-RACING dates from the times of the early Greeks and Romans, among whom it was a favorite sport. In England, Charles I., Cromwell, and Charles II. were more or less patrons of tire turf; and the last-named monarch was a regular frequenter of Newmarket, which, partly from this reason, became the metropolis of racing. William III. and queen Anne were also patrons of horse-racing. Flying Childers, bred in 1715 by the duke of Devonshire, was long considered to have been the fleetest horse ever known; he carried nine stone at Newmarket, and ran 3I m. in 6 minutes 40 seconds; he was never beaten, and produced- 497 winners, besides realizing £,200.000 in stakes. The celebrated horse Eclipse, the fleetest from the time of Childers, was bred in 1764 by the duke of Cumberland. Commenciag at five yews old, this horse won eleven plates, was never beaten, and became the sire of innumerable winners. The modern race-horse is considerably taller and of earlier maturity than the original type, partly from judicious crossing, and also from early high-feeding and training: vet there has been a loss of stoutness of constitution, although, for speed, no pure bred Ara) has a chance with a modern thorough-bred. The horses are entered as yearlings (a race-horse's age dates from Jan. 1 in the year lie is foaled); but of 240 entered in this way, rarely more than 25 come the pest ,two years afteilvards,•the majority being found practi tally useless for racing purposes, and the forfeits from these horses thus "scratched* form by far the greater portion of the splendid prizes of the turf. (It has been calcu lated that there are 1500 thorough-bred brood-mares in England; that these produce annually about 1100 foals.) The value of a thorough-bred yearling depends entirely upon '• the fashion" of his blood: as much as 3,000 guineas have been given, and 1000 and 1500 are by no means extravagant rates for promising colts. The training of the young racer commences in his second year, when lie is placed under a trainer, in an establishment such as those at. Newmarket, Middleham, Richmond, Mahon, Ilsley, Epsom, etc., where the downs offer a wide expanse of open country for exercise. The trainer's charge is two guineas a week; and for this each horse is personally attended to and ridden by a lad specially attached to him. A thorough preparation for a great race is a long and troublesome operation, consisting of several stages, during which the colt is gradually brought from a naturally loose condition to the greatest perfection possible: first by steady and continuous walking exercise, then proceeding by gradual stages to gentle galloping and sweating, and finishing by testing the capacity of the colt against a competitor at a distance equal to the forthcoming race. It has been found that, practically, the speed of almost all horses can be equalized by addition or subtrac tion of weight to be carried when running; and so nicely is this adjusted that the handi caps (q.v.), arranged on this principle, provide some of the best races in the year. The Chester cup. Doncaster cup, Ascot cup, Goodwood cup, Liverpool cup, Cezarewiteh and Cambridgeshire stakes, are all run on these terms. For the great prizes of the turf, however, the 1000 and 2,000 guineas, the Derby (about £6,000), Oaks (about £4,000), and St. Leger (about £5,000), for three-year-olds, the horses run upon an equality of age and weight.
Enormously large as are the stakes run for—upwards of £200,000 annually—this is as nothing to the money which annually changes hands in betting. We may divide
betting-men into two classes—those who back a single horse, from judgment or private information; and those who, without any knowledge, but from mere calculation, esti mate the odds, and take the "field" against "any favorite." The latter class are the professional betting-men ("the ring"), who devote themselves to the pursuit; the former is composed of the owners of horses and their friends, who trust to their knowledge and tact. Colossal fortunes have been made by the "ring" in this way. and there are men perpetually attending the country races, and ready to lay against any horse and " back" the "field." As no debts incurred by betting are recoverable by law, they become debts of honor; and any `• defaulter" is only amenable to the regulations of the turf. which have been devised to insure, as far as .possible, honest dealings. The Jockey Club is the great tribunal of sport in England, and its regulations are adhered to all over the country: it is composed of 64 noblemen and gentlemen, who take an inter est in the turf. Newmarket heath, the great center of racing, is in its possession, and by virtue of the position and authority of its members, it is enabled to exercise a great check upon dishonesty and fraud. The seven annual race-meetings at Newmarket are as follows: The Craven, first Spring, second Spring, July, first October, second October, and the " Houghton." The principal races are for the 1000 guineas, 2,000 guineas, Cezare witch, and Cambridgeshire. The Epsom meeting is the most popular, from its near ness to London, and from the interest attaching to the races for the Derby and Oaks. After Epsom, the Doncaster St. Leger, for three-,year-olds, claims the position of great est interest; it is run for by the competitors in the previous Derby and Oaks, and is generally considered to be a test of the correctness of their results. Ascot is reckoned the most fashionable meeting in the year; it is held on Ascot heath. in Berks, and here the best horses in England compete, at a more mature age titan at other races. In the race for the Ascot cup in 1854, West Australian ran the 21- m. in 4 minutes 27 seconds, the fastest race on record. Goodwood meeting, which is held in the duke of Rich mond's park, in Sussex, is also popular. There are upwards of 150 race-meetings held annually in the United Kingdom; upwards of 1600 horses run at these, and 160 jockeys are in constant employment. A good jockey is considered so valuable that he is always retained by one or more masters, for a considerable sum, and these gentlemen have a call upon his services in a certain rotation. The regular pay of a jockey is £5 for a and £3 for a losing " mount;" but there are so many gratuities, that this gives no indication of the income of a jockey, which is often very large: £1000 has frequently been given by a grateful owner. Racing has become popular in France, Russia, Aus tria, Prussia, Sardinia, and in the British colonies of India, Australia, the Cape, and Canada.
In addition to the flat-racing in England, there are a great number of steeple-chases, where horses contend over natural and artificial fences, ditches, etc. The sport is dangerous, on account of the immense speed arising from competition, so that horses get too distressed to jump, and broken backs and ribs are the consequence. In America trotting-matches arc very popular, and their horses excel all others in that description of racing.