Part 75

In the reign of Edward III. the running-horses purchased for the king’s service, were generally estimated at twenty marks, or thirteen pounds six shillings, and eightpence each; but some few of them were prized as high as twenty-five marks. An entry appears, dated the ninth year of this king’s reign, which states, that the king of Navarre sent him as a present two running-horses, which I presume were very valuable, because he gave the person who brought them no less than one hundred shillings for his reward.

In the reign of James I. public races were established in many parts of the kingdom; and it is said that the discipline and modes of preparing the horses upon such occasions were much the same as are practised in the present day. The races were then called bell courses, because, as we have seen above, the prize was a silver bell.

At the latter end of the reign of Charles I. races were held in Hyde Park, and at Newmarket. After the restoration, horse-racing was revived and much encouraged by Charles II., who frequently honoured this pastime with his presence; and, for his own amusement, when he resided at Windsor, appointed races to be made in Datchet mead. At Newmarket, where it is said he entered horses and run them in his name, he established a house for his better accommodation; and he also occasionally visited other places where horse-races were instituted.

About this time it seems, that the bells were converted into cups, or bowls, or some other pieces of plate, which were usually valued at one hundred guineas each; and upon these trophies of victory the exploits and pedigree of the successful horses were most commonly engraved. William III. was also a patroniser of this pastime, and established an academy for riding; and his queen not only continued the bounty of her predecessors, but added several plates to the former donations. George I. instead of a piece of plate, gave a hundred guineas, to be paid in specie.

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RULES OF RACING.

Horses take their ages from May-Day; that is, a horse foaled any time in the year 1828, will be deemed a year old on the 1st of May, 1829.

Four inches are a hand. Fourteen pounds are a stone.

Catch weights are, each party to appoint any person to ride without weighing.

A post match, is to insert the age of the horses in the article, and to run any horse of that age, without declaring what horse, till he come to the post to start.

A Handicap Match, is A, B, and C, to put an equal sum each into a hat; C, who is the handicapper, makes a match for A and B, who, when they have perused it, put their hands into their pockets, and draw them out closed; then they open them together, and if both have money in their hands, the match is confirmed; if neither have money, it is no match. In both cases, the handicapper draws all the money out of the hat; but if one has money in his hand, and the other none, then it is no match; and he that has money in his hand is entitled to the deposit in the hat.

_Free Handicap_ is an expression which frequently appears in race lists, the meaning of which is, that a number of horses being named, a weight is placed against the name of each, by the clerk of the races, or some disinterested person, who is well acquainted with the performances of the horses. These weights are supposed to be such as will bring all the horses as nearly on a par as possible; and the list containing them being handed to the owners of each horse, they accept or decline according as they imagine the chances are for or against them.

Horses not entitled to start without producing a proper certificate of their age, if required, at the time appointed in the articles, except where aged horses are included, and in that case a junior horse may enter without a certificate as to age, provided he carry the same weight as the aged.

No person shall start more than one horse of which he is the owner, either wholly or in part, and either in his own name or in that of any other person, for any race for which heats are run.

The horse that has his head at the ending-post first, wins the heat.

For the best of the plate where three heats are run, the horse is second that wins one heat.

For the best of heats, the horse is second that beats the other horse twice out of three times, though he does not win a heat.

Where a plate is won by two heats, the preference of the horses is determined by the places they get in the second heat.

Where a plate or subscription is given for the winner of the best of three heats, a horse, to win the prize, must be the actual winner of two heats, even though no horse appear against him for both or either of the heats.

When three horses have each won a heat, they only must start for a fourth, and the preference amongst them will be determined by it, there being before no difference amongst them.

In running of heats, if it cannot be decided which horse is first, the heat goes for nothing, and they may all start again, except it be between two horses that had each won a heat.

If a rider fall from his horse, and the horse be rode in by a person who is sufficient weight, he shall take his place the same as if his rider had not fallen, provided he go back to the place where the rider fell.

Jockeys must ride their horses to the usual place for weighing the riders, and he that dismounts before, or wants weight, is distanced; unless he be disabled by an accident which should render him incapable of riding back, in which case he may be led or carried to the scale.

Horses’ plates or shoes not allowed in the weight.

Horses running on the wrong side of a post, and not turning back, are distanced.

Horses drawn before the plate is won are distanced.

Horses are distanced if their riders cross or jostle.

All complaints of foul riding must be made before or at the time the jockey is weighed.

No distance in a fourth heat.

A confirmed bet cannot be off but by mutual consent, except in the case hereinafter mentioned.

Either of the betters may demand stakes to be made, and on refusal declare the bet to be void.

If a better be absent on the day of running, a public declaration of the bet may be made on the course, and a demand whether any person will make stakes for the absent party, and if no person consent to do so, the bet may be declared void.

Bets agreed to be paid or received in London, or any other specified place, cannot be declared off on the course.

If a match or sweepstakes be made for any specified day in any race-week, and the parties agree to change the day to any other in the same week, all bets must stand; but if the parties agree to run the race in a different week, all bets made before the alteration shall be void.

The person who lays the odds has a right to choose a horse or the field; when a person has chosen a horse, the field is what starts against him; but there is no field without one horse starts against him.

Bets and stakes made in guineas are paid in sovereigns.

If odds are laid without mentioning the horse before the race is over, the bet must be determined by the state of the odds at the time of making it.

Bets made in running are not determined till the plate is won, if that heat be not mentioned at the time of running.

A bet made after the heat is over, if the horse betted on does not start, is void.

Bets determined, though the horse does not start, when the words “play or pay,” are made use of in betting.

Where two horses run a dead heat for a sweepstakes or plate, and the parties agree to divide the stakes equally, all bets between those two horses, or between either of them, and the field, must be settled by the money betted being put together and divided equally between the parties. If, after the dead heat, an equal division of the stakes be agreed upon, then the money betted shall be put together, and be divided between the parties in the same proportion as the stakes shall have been divided. If a bet be made on one of the horses that run the dead heat against a horse that was beaten in the race, he who backed the horse that ran the dead heat wins half his bet. If the dead heat be the first event of a double bet, the bet shall be void.

Bets made on horses winning any number of races within the year shall be understood, however the expression may be varied, as meaning the year of our Lord.

Money given to have a bet laid shall not be returned, though the race be not run.

Matches and bets are void on the decease of either party before the match or bet is determined.

A horse walking over or receiving forfeit shall not be deemed a winner.

An untried stallion or mare is one whose produce has never run in public.

A maiden horse or mare is one that has never won.

_Feather Weight._—A horse carries feather weight, when the terms of the race allow the owner to place what rider he pleases on his back: he consequently procures the lightest eligible jockey possible, who weighs neither before nor after the race.

Give and take plates, are weights for inches: twelve hands to carry a stated weight, all above to carry extra, in the proportion of seven pounds to an inch.—_Strutt_—_Turf_ _Expositor._

RACECOURSE, _s_. Ground over which a race is run. The principal are—

_Ascot Heath._ A circular course, exactly two miles, the last mile of which forms the Old Mile. The New Mile is straight, rising all the way, and measures 7 fur. 150 yds. The T. Y. C. (part of the New Mile) is 3 fur. 95 yds.

_Buxton._ A circular course of one mile.

_Chelmsford._ An oval course, thirty yards short of two miles; but by starting between the distance post and the winning chair, it becomes two complete miles.

_Chester._ A circular course of one mile. It is a complete flat, and perhaps the pleasantest course in England for spectators.

_Doncaster._ A circular course of 1 mile, 7 fur. 70 yds. The other courses are formed of portions of this circle, namely, Red House Inn, 5 fur. 164 yds. T. Y. C. 7 fur. 189 yds. Fitzwilliam Course, 1 mile, 4 fur. 10 yds. St. Leger Course, 1 mile, 6 fur. 132 yds. Two Mile Course, 2 miles, 25 yds. Four Mile Course, (twice round) 3 miles, 7 fur. 219 yds.

_Egham._ A flat oval course, 66 yds. short of 2 miles.

_Epsom._ Two miles, the last mile and a half of which is the Derby and Oaks Course. The Craven Course is one mile and a quarter of the same ground. Epsom Course can be properly called neither circular, oval, nor triangular.—It is altogether one of the worst courses in England.

_Knutsford._ A flat circular course of one mile.

_Lancaster._ A circular mile course, and good turf.

_Leeds._ A circular course of 1 mile, 2 fur. 48 yds. There is also a straight course, through the centre of the circular one, of 2 fur. 158 yds., which, uniting with each half of the circle, forms two other courses, in the form of a sector, the one 1 mile, 11 yds., the other 1 mile, 135 yds.

_Liverpool._ The Old Course is an oval mile, flat, and very good turf. The New Course is one mile and a half, forming an ill-defined oblong square; and though nearly flat, is a very distressing course for horses. It is a new establishment, races were held upon it this year (1829) for the first time. The form is bad—it is too elongated, and in consequence causes the horses, for a great part of the length, to be too far distant. The Old and the New Course are situated at the distance of two miles asunder.

_Manchester._ An oval course of 7 fur. 184 yds. The Cup Course is 2 miles, 168 yds. The T. Y. C. 5 fur. 184 yds. There is a hill, and the course is by no means of the best description.

_Newcastle._ A sort of square of 1 mile, 6 fur. 132 yds.

_Newton._ A triangular course of one mile.

_Nottingham._ A circular course of 1 mile, 2 fur. and 11 yds.

_Oxford._ Flat, oval course, 2 miles all but a distance.

_Pontefract._ An oval course, formed on the gentle declivity of rising ground, 2 miles, 1 fur.

_Preston._ An indifferent oval course, one mile.

_Stockbridge._ An oval course, rather hilly, the last three quarters of a mile in a straight line. There is one straight mile, and also a circular course of about one mile and a quarter; the latter is called the New Course.

_York._ T. Y. C. 5 fur. 59 yds. Mile Course, 1 mile, 8 yds. Last mile and quarter, 1 mile, 2 fur., 15 yds. Last mile and half, 1 mile, 4 fur., 18 yds. Last mile and three quarters, 1 mile, 5 fur., 160 yds. Two-mile Course, 1 mile, 7 fur., 85 yds. Four-mile Course, 3 mile, 7 fur., 24 yds. York Course is situated upon low ground, and, in consequence, becomes very heavy in wet weather.—_Turf Expositor._

RACEHORSE, _s._ A horse bred to run for prizes.

There is much dispute with regard to the origin of the thorough-bred horse. By some he is traced to both sire and dam to Eastern parentage; others believe him to be the native horse, improved and perfected by judicious crossing with the Barb, the Turk, or the Arabian. “The Stud Book,” which is an authority acknowledged by every English breeder, traces all the old racers to some Eastern origin; or it traces them until the pedigree is lost in the uncertainty of an early period of breeding. If a pedigree of a racer of the present day be required, it is traced back to a certain extent, and ends with a well-known racer;—or, if an earlier derivation be required, that ends either with an eastern horse, or in obscurity.

It must, on the whole, be allowed, that the present English thorough-bred horse is of foreign extraction, improved and perfected by the influence of the climate, and by diligent cultivation. There are some exceptions, as in the case of Sampson and Bay-Malton, in each of whom, although the best horses of their day, there was a cross of vulgar blood; but they are only exceptions to a general rule. In our best racing stables, and, particularly in the studs of the Earls of Grosvenor and Egremont, this is an acknowledged principle; and it is not, when properly considered, a principle at all derogatory to the credit of the country. The British climate, and British skill, made the thoroughbred horse what he is.

Whatever may be the truth as to the origin of the race-horse, the strictest attention has for the last fifty years been paid to pedigree. In the descent of almost every modern racer, not the slightest flaw can be discovered: or when, with the splendid exception of Sampson and Bay-Malton, one drop of common blood has mingled with the pure stream, it has been immediately detected in the inferiority of form, and deficiency of bottom, and it has required two or three generations to wipe away the stain, and get rid of its consequences.

The racer is generally distinguished by his beautiful Arabian head;—his fine and finely-set-on-neck;—his oblique, lengthened shoulders;—well-bent hinder legs;—his ample, muscular quarters—his flat legs, rather short from the knee downward, although not always so deep as they should be;—and his long and elastic pastern. These are separately considered where the structure of the horse is treated of.

The racer, however, with the most beautiful form, is occasionally a sorry animal. There is sometimes a want of energy in an apparently faultless shape, for which there is no accounting; but there are two points among those just enumerated which will rarely or never deceive, a well-placed shoulder, and a well-bent hinder leg.

It has been imagined that the breed of racing horses has lately very considerably degenerated. This is not the case. Thorough-bred horses were formerly fewer in number, and their performances created greater wonder. The breed has now increased twenty-fold, and superiority is not so easily obtained among so many competitors. If one circumstance could, more than any other, produce this degeneracy, it would be our absurd and cruel habit of bringing out horses too soon, and the frequent failure of their legs before they have come to their full power. Childers and Eclipse did not appear until they were five years old: but many of our best horses, and those perhaps, who would have shown equal excellence with the most celebrated racers, are foundered and destroyed before that period.

Whether the introduction of short races, and so young horses, be advantageous, and whether stoutness and usefulness may not thus be somewhat too much sacrificed to speed: whether there may be danger that an animal designed for service may, in process of time, be frittered away almost to a shadow of what he was, in order that at two years old, over the one-mile-course, he may astonish the crowd by his fleetness,—are questions that more concern the sporting man than the agriculturist; and yet they concern the agriculturist too, for racing is principally valuable as connected with breeding, and as the test of breeding. _Vide_ TRAINING.

RACER, _s._ A Runner, one that contends in speed.

RACK, _s._ An engine of torture; extreme pain; the clouds as they are driven by the wind; a wooden grate in which hay is placed for cattle; arrack, a spirituous liquor.

RACKET, _s._ An irregular clattering noise; the instrument with which players strike the ball.

RACKETS, _s._ A fine manly game, in which a small ball and cat-gut implement are used.

RAFFLE, _s._ A species of game or lottery, in which many stake a small part of the value of some single thing, in consideration of a chance to gain it.

ODDS ON A RAFFLE WITH NINE DICE, OR THE HIGHEST IN THREE THROWS WITH THREE DICE.

It is 10077695 to 1, that you 54 1007768 .. 1, do not 53 or more. 183229 .. 1, throw 52 — 45809 .. 1, 51 — 14093 .. 1, 50 — 5032 .. 1, 49 — 2016 .. 1, 48 — 886 .. 1, 47 — 422 .. 1, 46 — 215 .. 1, 45 — 116 .. 1, 44 — 66 .. 1, 43 — 39 } .. 1, 42 — very near 39½ } 24½ .. 1, 41 — 15¾ .. 1, 40 — 10½ .. 1, 39 — 7¹/₇ .. 1, 38 — very near 5 .. 1, 37 — 3½ .. 1, 36 — 2⁶/₁₁ .. 1, } 35 — or 28 .. 11, } 11 .. 6, 34 — 9 .. 7, 35 —

It is exactly equal that you throw 32 or more.—_Hoyle._

RAGSTONE, _s._ A stone so named from its breaking in a rugged manner; the stone with which they smooth the edge of a tool new ground and left ragged.

RAKE, _v._ To gather with a rake; to heap together and cover; to fire on a ship in the direction of head and stern; a veterinary operation.

RAKING, _a._ An operation performed on a horse.

_Raking._—This consists in introducing the hand into the horse’s rectum, and drawing out any hardened dung that may be there. It may be necessary in costiveness or fever, if a clyster pipe cannot be obtained; but an injection will better effect the purpose, and with less inconvenience to the animal. The introduction of the hand into the rectum is, however, useful to ascertain the existence of stone in the bladder, or the degree of distension of the bladder in suppression of urine, for the bladder will be easily felt below the gut; and at the same time, by the heat of the intestine, the degree of inflammation in it or in the bladder may be detected.—_Blaine._

RAM, _s._ A male sheep.

RAMMER, _s._ An instrument with which anything is driven hard; the stick with which the charge is forced into the gun.

RANA, _s._ That class of animals in the Linnæan system to which the frog and the toad belong.

RANDOM, _a._ Done by chance, roving without direction.

RANGE, _v._ To place in order; to pass over; to rove at large.

RANGE, _s._ Anything placed in a line; excursion; room for excursion; compass taken in by anything excursive; line of a shot.

RANGER, _s._ One that ranges; a rover; a dog that beats the ground; one whose business it is to rechase the wild beasts from the purlieus of the forest, and to present offences within the forest.

RAPACIOUS, _a._ Given to plunder, seizing by violence.

RAPE, _s._ Something snatched away; a plant, from the seed of which oil is expressed.

RASH, _a._ Hasty, precipitate. An efflorescence on the body, a breaking out.

RASP, _v._ To rub to powder with a very rough file.

RASP, _s._ A large rough file, commonly used to wear away wood.

RAT, _s._ An animal of the mouse kind that infests houses and ships.

RATAFIA, _s._ A fine liqueur, prepared from the kernels of apricots and spirits.

RATAN, _s._ An Indian cane.

RATE, _s._ The pace of a setter, pointer, or horse.

RATE, _v._ To value at a certain price; to chide hastily and vehemently.

RATSBANE, _s._ Poison for rats; arsenic.

RAVEL, _v._ To entangle, to involve, to perplex.

RAVEN, _s._ A large black fowl; a bird of prey.

_Raven or Great Corbie Crow._ (_Corvus Corax_, LINN.; _Le Corbeau_, BUFF.)—This is the largest of this kind; its length is above two feet; breadth four. Its bill is strong and very thick at the base; it measures somewhat more than two inches and a half in length, and is covered with strong hairs or bristles, which extend above half its length, covering the nostrils: the general colour of the upper parts is a fine glossy black, reflecting a blue tint in particular lights; the under parts are duller, and of a dusky hue.

The raven is well known in all parts of the world, and in times of ignorance and superstition, was considered as ominous, foretelling future events by its horrid croakings, and announcing impending calamities: in those times the raven was considered as a bird of vast importance, and the various changes and modulations of its voice were studied with the most careful attention, and were made use of by artful and designing men to mislead the ignorant and credulous. It is a very long-lived bird, and is supposed sometimes to live a century or more. It is fond of carrion, which it scents at a great distance; it is said that it will destroy rabbits, young ducks, and chickens: it has been known to seize on young lambs which have been dropped in a weak state, and pick out their eyes while yet alive: it will suck the eggs of other birds; it feeds also on earthworms, reptiles, and even shell-fish when urged by hunger.

It may be rendered very tame and familiar, and has been frequently taught to pronounce a variety of words: it is a crafty bird, and will frequently pick up things of value, such as rings, money, &c. and carry them to its hiding place. It makes its nest early in the spring, and builds in trees and the holes of rocks, laying five or six eggs, of a pale bluish green colour, spotted with brown. The female sits about twenty days, and is constantly attended by the male, who not only provides her with abundance of food, but relieves her in turn, and takes her place in the nest.

The natives of Greenland eat the flesh, and make a covering for themselves with the skins of these birds, which they wear next their bodies.

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