Part 25

These letters reveal a curious ending to what might have proved, had it been suffered to become public, one of the most remarkable "cases" ever investigated in a court of law. One of the public journals of the time, in speaking of the withdrawal of Mr. Day's action, said: "The action is withdrawn, and the letter is withdrawn, but whether the action is withdrawn on condition of the letter being also withdrawn, or whether the letter is withdrawn on condition of the action being withdrawn, and which withdrawal was first proposed and first accepted, and from which side the surrender was suggested, we, at any rate, know not." But it certainly seems, from a passage in the Admiral's letter, that the trainer had the best of it. "The fact of my having addressed a second letter to the editor (of The Times) on the same day," writes the Admiral, "requesting him not to insert the first, is a proof that I did not consider myself justified in desiring it to be published."

The Earl was not only scratched at the eleventh hour for the Derby, but was also in due time struck out of the St. Leger on the Friday afternoon before the Doncaster race, a certificate of a veterinary surgeon, of date, "London, September 5th, 1868," being published as a reason for the withdrawal of the horse from the great race of the north. When it became known that The Earl had really broken down, some little degree of feeling was expressed by the public in regard to this culminating misfortune which had befallen a broken man. And the reader may be reminded that at the date of the withdrawal of Mr. Day's action the Marquis had been dead for some weeks, and it might be that that fact of itself led to the cessation of proceedings at law.

From the sporting journals of the period a glimpse is obtained of the dealings of Lord Hastings with "the ring," and of the indignation of the magnates of the betting world because of his lordship's disinclination to hedge his "very fine bets." One journal, which professed to be well informed of the contents of his lordship's betting-book, said that the ring would have been well pleased to have given him a sum of £20,000 for his chances of winning the Derby with Lady Elizabeth, on the condition that he would devote the money so obtained to part payment of the arrears of his debts of honour--debts contracted on the turf after his liabilities on Hermit's Derby had been provided for. At the time of the negotiations referred to, the price of Lady Elizabeth in the betting market was 3 to 1, so that it is obvious enough that the ill-starred nobleman would have won a very large stake if the mare had won the Derby.

His lordship, it should be stated, had made his bets on Lady Elizabeth through agents, whom the bookmakers, in the event of the horse being victorious, would have been bound to pay in full, whilst they had no guarantee that his lordship would devote the money so got to the payment of his debts, he being at the time due large sums to the men who had betted the long odds against the chance of his horse to his commissioners.

This narrative of "the Lady Elizabeth Scandal" has not been penned in a dogmatic spirit. It could have easily, had the writer so desired, been highly coloured. It is perhaps not the worse for being somewhat bald. Sufficient materials have been provided, however, to admit of the reader forming his own judgment on the whole matter; and one feature of the case is evident, and it is from what appears on the surface, the horse (The Earl) should have been eliminated from his Derby engagement months instead of hours before the time appointed for the race.

The following somewhat extraordinary extract from one of the sporting journals of the period indicated will fitly conclude this narration of a rather disagreeable episode of modern horse-racing: "Let it be noted that it is capable of proof that his lordship has not lost money on the turf; that, as a matter of fact, he has absolutely won from most of the bookmakers; that three of his heaviest creditors have assured me they have on the balance paid him large sums of money; and that one gentleman, who paid him last year £24,000, is now out of pocket by his transactions with him to the extent of £4,000, and cannot even get an offer of settlement. Let it be remembered also that this defaulter has from the commencement trifled with, laughed at, and now defies his creditors; that he owes them thousands of pounds, which they have little hope of ever recovering; and that he has every prospect of winning from them, which he will put into his pocket and probably keep there; and the racing world and the general public have some means of arriving at a true conclusion as to the honour of a nobleman, and the prospects, under present laws, of the national sport of England."

RACING REFORM: SIR JOSEPH HAWLEY'S AND OTHER SCHEMES.

Within the last twenty years many schemes of turf reform have been discussed, and it must be admitted that in the matter of the rules of racing several wholesale changes have already been made. Instead of entering upon particulars of what has been accomplished by the Jockey Club, or indulging in speculations as to what that august body is probably meditating in the way of farther racing reform, it may probably turn out that aid has come from an unexpected source, so far, at least, as one phase of reform is concerned.

The growth of "gate-money meetings" points to the solution of one vexed question of turf economy, namely, an abatement of several petty meetings which were once a feature of the racing season. Gate-money meetings, it must be admitted, are proving wonderfully successful. The effect of establishing these centres of sport (gate-money meetings) will ultimately limit the seats of racing; indeed, it is now prophesied that, after a few years, racing will no longer, as in past times, be "the free sport of a free people." It is being said that the day is not far distant when Ascot, Goodwood, and Doncaster will remain--if they do remain--the only meetings in part open to the non-paying public. Newmarket may be said to be already moving in the direction of gate-money.

It is perhaps better that such a change should take place, racing being now more a business than a pastime. It is not an easy task to disguise the fact that the chief end and aim of the horse-racing of the period is gambling; the bigger the meeting the greater the gamble, as those who attend race meetings can discern for themselves. A few staunch votaries of the turf who do not bet are still left, no doubt, to indulge in horse-racing for itself, that is to say, for the pleasure they derive in witnessing the sport, and in some instances because it affords them an opportunity of trying their hands at breeding; but it is not too much to affirm that of every hundred persons now "on the turf," ninety and nine of the number are gamblers.

For twenty years and more the opportunities for gambling by means of the horse have been multiplying on all sides; at all meetings the loudest noise emanates from men who are trying to incite other men to gamble. To-day the horse is our greatest instrument of gambling. A hundred years ago the public were demoralised by means of lotteries; but the money then changing hands was assuredly not one-hundredth part of the amount which changes hands to-day in connection with one or two of our important races. Next in extent to the speculation of the Stock Exchange and produce markets comes the gambling which takes place on such popular handicaps as the Cesarewitch, Cambridgeshire, and other struggles of the turf.

As has been hinted, the future of horse-racing ("the turf") is in some degree likely to take shape from the new departure in the form of gate-money meetings, as developed at Manchester, Kempton, Sandown, and other places. The joint-stock companies who usually inaugurate gate-money races can afford to offer immense inducements to the owners of the best horses to run them on their grounds; when the "added money" (?) to a handicap amounts to four or five or say even two thousand pounds, it is only reasonable to suppose that the owners of race-horses will compete for such prizes. It is shown on another page that to keep a stud of race-horses is an expensive amusement, and as few men are able to do so without looking for some return by which to lighten their heavy training bills, they are more likely to find what they want at the kind of meetings now so much in favour than at smaller gatherings held every now and then in different and distant parts of the country, where, although the stakes are much poorer, the expenses are quite as high, or even higher, than at Kempton, Sandown, Derby, Manchester, or Leicester.

It is thought by some persons well versed in turf affairs that the success attending gate meetings will lead to each company increasing their number, if they be permitted to do so, in the course of the year. The Jockey Club can, in some degree (and the greater the degree the better), regulate the "quality" of sport; but the stewards find it a work of difficulty to limit the number of meetings. So long as the public support these meetings in a way that brings profit to their promoters, just so long will they continue to flourish and no longer. What the owners of horses who do not gamble desire is to win big stakes rather than little ones, and owners who keep animals simply for gambling purposes can, of course, offer no objections to well-attended centres of sport; it being borne in mind that the sixpences and shillings paid by the multitude for admission provide the stakes, just as the "small money" received from little gamblers enables bookmakers to lay big amounts to "the swells" against their horses.

Looked at in this light, the well-organised gate-money meetings now held in the vicinity of great seats of population will, in time, absorb a large portion of the racing capital and enterprise of the country, so that the small old-fashioned county gatherings will undoubtedly dry up. The "Innkeepers' Plate" and the "County Members' Cup" will speedily be no longer heard of; and a time will come when the hat will not be sent round among the tradespeople of a county for the purpose of providing a racing trophy for the local meeting. The only county races of the kind indicated will, there can be little doubt, dwindle ere long into farmers', hunters', and yeomanry meetings.

In seeking after turf reform, it must be borne in mind that there are some things which the Jockey Club cannot possibly accomplish; but it is undoubtedly the province of that body to regulate racing so far as the ages of horses are concerned; they can determine when two-year-olds shall first run, and they can fix a limit, as indeed they have already done, below which the stake to be run for shall not sink. The Jockey Club did a wise action in licensing jockeys and other racing officials; that body may judiciously extend its authority so far as to license bookmakers, and also create a race-going police that shall be a terror to welshers and racing roughs of all kinds.

II.

Sir Joseph Hawley figured in his time as a racing reformer, and judging from what he said and did he was thoroughly in earnest. His propositions may serve as a text for an exposition of what is now held by some good judges to be most wanted in the shape of "racing reform."

By way of exordium, Sir Joseph laid down as a proposition that racing was no longer a national sport, but had become a "mere trade," so far as most of its followers were concerned. "The public are now convinced," said Sir Joseph, "that the system which has been of late years rapidly growing up in no way tends to improve the breed of horses, but is one of simple gambling, and in this state of things the Jockey Club silently acquiesce. Such an impression, rightly or wrongly formed, is most dangerous alike to the sport and the reputation of those who take part in it; but so long as the recognised authorities remain passive, and make no effort to bring about a better order of things, it would be impossible to remove it."

The proposals made by Sir Joseph for comparison with racing as it is to-day may be summarised as follows:

1. No horse to run in any flat race after November 15th or before March 24th, and no two-year-old before September 1st, any horse so running to be disqualified from entering or running at any meeting where the Jockey Club Rules are in force.

2. No entries for two-year-old races to be made more than fifteen days before the day advertised for running.

3. No horse under four years old to run in any handicap.

4. No public money, cup, or other prize to be given in any race to which two-year-olds are admitted, or any race under a mile, or to any handicap.

5. All entries to be made in real name of owner or part owner.

The Kingsclere Baronet also indicated some reformation or widening of the Jockey Club by his proposition "that the basis of the club be extended, and that not only more gentlemen who are large owners of race-horses, but those who take interest in racing as a means of preserving the breed of horses, be invited to become members." Sir Joseph, in formulating his Turf Reform Bill, undoubtedly indicated some of the blots incidental to modern horse-racing, as indeed previous turf reformers had done, and as has in some degree been done since he died. Under the rules of racing as now administered there can be no doubt that the gambling element of the turf has far greater scope than it would be allowed under the stringent regulations formulated by Sir Joseph.

Whenever any proposals are made for racing reform of a substantial kind, strenuous opposition at once begins, both within and without the Jockey Club. The members of that self-constituted body are difficult to move in such matters, some of them at any rate being pretty staunch believers in the doctrine of "use and wont." Some critics have asserted that the gambling element is at times stronger within the club than out of it; at any rate, it will not soon be forgotten how one of its members at a prominent meeting created a "scene" in the ring because he had been anticipated in backing one of his horses--that gentleman's love of "the noble sport of horse-racing" is easily estimated. Probably before that time comes--it seems to be at present far distant--when no person will be eligible for election to the club who bets, much-needed reforms of various kinds will have been consummated. At some future date it may probably be enacted by the Jockey Club that two-year-old horses shall not run at Lincoln, nor at the earlier Newmarket meetings as at present, but be reserved for a later period of the season; in the meantime, however, with the sordid spirit of gambling pervading every nook and corner of the turf, it is vain to hope for much reform of the kind indicated by Sir Joseph Hawley.

Before leaving this part of the subject it may just be noted that there was no lack of two-year-old racing at Newmarket in the years (1882-83) which are selected as being representative. From April 11th to 14th six races took place in which two-year-olds were the competitors either in whole or part; for these the fields numbered respectively 6, 8, 3, 10, 8, and 3. From April 25th to 28th ten races were run at head-quarters, the fields for which averaged 11 horses. At the May Newmarket reunion (9th to 11th) there were thirteen races in which two-year-olds were engaged, being an average of say 6 horses for each race. The Newmarket July Meeting is celebrated for its two-year-old races, two of which are looked upon with great interest. In 1884 nineteen races for two-year-olds were run at Newmarket during the first three meetings, and very fair fields of competitors were seen on the Heath. At the Newmarket April Meeting of last year (1890) there were seven races on the programme for two-year-olds.

From these statistics it will at once be apparent that if an abridgment of two-year-old racing is ever to take place it will have to begin at home, and the Jockey Club will require to set the example. Owners and trainers have, however, become so accustomed to the present early and lavish display of two-year-olds on all the race courses of the kingdom that it will be difficult to enter even the thin end of the wedge. The racing public are wedded to things as they are, and yearlings have become so costly that owners and trainers are glad to see their horses earning money at an early date.