On the State of the English Turf in 1865. 5 



proportion to the revenue received from grand 

 stands, sales by auction, deductions from stakes, 

 entrance money, and weights and scales. I have 

 spoken to a gentleman of great experience con- 

 nected with the press, respecting these impositions 

 His answer was, " We dare not mention the subject, 

 or we should lose the pecuniary advantages of 

 publishing the programmes." Thus the interests 

 of the horse-owners are unprotected. The receipts 

 of the great stands at Ascot, Epsom, Doncaster, 

 and elsewhere have increased from 50 to 75 per 

 cent, in the last ten years. It might be considered 

 just and politic that the stand proprietors should, 

 augment the amount of their racing prizes in pro- 

 portion to their revenues ; such an idea is not in 

 unison with their domestic habits. They inherit 

 what Canning described to be " the fault of the 

 Dutch, giving too little and asking too much." 



To illustrate my statement I will take the 

 racing metropolis of the North, " Doncaster," so 

 celebrated for its liberality to the Turf. In 1864 

 the corporation voted 1,200?. to the racing com- 

 mittee, who advertised 2,200?. in prizes ; but then 

 deductions from their own stakes, the entrance 

 money, the sales by auction, weights and scales, 

 charges for expenses from the winners of the 

 St. Leger and Park Hill Stakes (to which they 



