RACECOURSE 



inhabits New Guinea and Mela- 

 nesia, and includes pygmy negrito 

 peoples in the Philippines, Malay- 

 sia, and the Andamans. The Aus- 

 tralian aborigines and the pre- 

 Dravidians of S. India John- 

 ston's Australoids are curly or 

 wavy-haired, and therefore of re- 

 mote Caucasian kin, although 

 commonly ranked with the black 

 race on cultural grounds. (See 

 Ethnology ; also Race, col. plate. ) 



The word race is also used for a 

 competition of any kind. See 

 Athletics ; Horse -racing ; Running. 



Racecourse. Ground on which 

 horse races are held. There are 

 three kinds of racecourse, the 

 hurdle-race, the steeplechase, and 

 the flat-race course. The flat-race 

 course, as the name implies, is for 

 races without obstacles. The 

 hurdle-race course must have at 

 least six hurdles, not less than 3 ft. 

 6 ins. high, in the first mile and a 

 half, and at least one for each 

 additional J m. The steeplechase 

 course must have (a) at least 12 

 fences, excluding hurdles, in the 

 first 2 m., and at least six more in 

 each additional m. ; (6) at least one 

 ditch, not less than 6 ft. wide and 

 2 ft. deep ; and (c) a water jump 

 not less than 12 ft. wide and 2 ft. 

 deep. The distance of flat races 

 varies from 5 furlongs to 2J m., and 

 of hurdle races and steeplechases 

 from 2 m. to a little more than 4 

 m., except for hurdle races for 

 three-year-olds, which from Sept. 1 

 to Dec. 31 inclusive may be run 

 over a minimum distance of 1J m. 



Among the principal racecourses 

 hi the United Kingdom are those 

 at Epsom, where the Derby Stakes 

 is run, Ascot, Goodwood, New- 

 market, Doncaster, Manchester, 

 York, Liverpool (Aintree), Kemp- 

 ton Park, Sandown Park, Hurst 

 Park, the Curragh, Ayr, and Edin- 

 burgh. Aintree is the scene of 

 the Grand National, the most 

 important steeplechase event. 

 Newmarket is the English racing 

 headquarters, the Curragh holding 

 a similar position in Ireland. 

 In England there are 40 courses 

 licensed by the Jockey Club, and 

 about the same number are licensed 

 by the National Hunt Committee. 

 Southend-on-Sea, Bournemouth, 

 and Lowestoft are the sites for 

 proposed new courses See Derby ; 

 Horse-racing; Leopardstown ; Long- 

 champs; Newmarket, etc. 



Raceme (Lat. racemus, a cluster 

 of grapes). Botanical term for that 

 form of flower grouping (inflores- 

 cence) in which the separate flowers 

 are arranged on short lateral stalks 

 from a central axis. Familiar ex- 

 amples may be found in the blue- 

 bell and the barberry. The raceme 

 is a type of what is known as the 



monopodial inflorescence, in which 

 the mam shoot continues to 

 lengthen, whilst giving off side 

 branches in succession, each of the 

 latter terminating in a flower. See 

 Flower ; Inflorescence. 



Racemic Acid. Organic acid 

 discovered by Kestner in 1822, as 

 a by-product in the manufacture 

 of tartaric acid, with which it is 

 isomeric. Racemic acid can be 

 produced by heating tartaric acid 

 with water for thirty hours, at 

 a temperature of 175 C. It is a 

 crystalline body, less soluble in 

 water than tartaric acid. 



Race Suicide. Term that came 

 into use in the 19th century to in- 

 dicate the decrease of the popu- 

 lation of a country, due to the 

 excess of deaths over births. If 

 this continues long enough, it must 

 result in the extinction of the 

 nation in question, and when it 

 arises from deliberate action, it is 

 fitly referred to as suicide. See 

 Birth Rate ; Eugenics ; Population. 

 Rachel. In the O.T., younger 

 daughter of Laban, sister of Leah, 

 favourite wife of Jacob, and 

 mother of Joseph and Benjamin. 

 With Leah, she took Jacob's part 

 in his quarrel with Laban. She 

 died in giving birth to Benjamin. 

 The Jewish captives of Nebuchad- 

 rezzar passed her tomb on their 

 way to exile (Gen. 29, 31, 35; 

 1 Sam. 10 ; Jer. 31 ; Matt. 2). 

 Over the traditional tomb of Rachel 

 Moses Montefiore erected a small 

 hut in 1849, and in 1867 Rabbi 

 Zwi Kalischer bought a tract of 

 the surrounding land, which his son 

 presented to the Jewish community 

 at Jerusalem. A dispute as to the 

 ownership of the tomb arising in 

 Sept., 1921, was referred to the 

 Commission on Holy Places, the 

 Jews, meanwhile, being permitted 

 to carry out necessary repairs, but 

 without prejudice to any rights 

 claimed by the Moslems. 



Rachel (1821-58). French 

 actress, whose real name was 

 Elizabeth Felix. Born March 24, 

 1821, at 

 Mumpf, Swit- 

 zerland, the 

 daughter o f 

 poor Jewish 

 pedlars, she 

 sang in the 

 streets as a 

 child, display- 

 ing so much 

 talent that 

 Etienne Cho- 

 ron, the mu- 

 sician, under- 

 took her training till he died in 

 1833, when sha was admitted into 

 the Paris Conssrvatoire. She made 

 her debut at the Theatre Fran9ais, 

 June 12, 1838, as Camille in Cor- 



8. V. Rachmaninov, 

 Russian composer 



Rachel. 

 French actress 



After C. L. JUIlller 



RACINE 



neille's Horace, subsequently play- 

 ing Roxane in Racine's Bajazet. 

 On Jan. 21, 1843, she won her 

 greatest triumph as Phedre, in 

 Racine's tragedy, and in 1849 she 

 . created the part of the heroine in 

 Scribe and Legouve's Adrienne 

 Lecouvreur. Rachel created a sen- 

 sation in London in 1841 and 1842, 

 and won immense applause all over 

 Europe as a tragic actress of 

 supreme genius. She died of con- 

 sumption at Cannet, Jan. 3, 1858. 

 See Lives, J. Janin, 1858 ; Mrs. 

 A. Kennard, 1885 ; F. H. Gribble, 

 1911. Pron. Rahshel. 



Rachmaninov, SERGEI VASSIL- 

 IEVITCH (b. 1873). Russian com- 

 poser and pianist. Born at Nov- 

 gorod, April 2. 

 1873, he stud- 

 ied at St. Pe- 

 tersburg and 

 Moscow, win- 

 ning a gold 

 medal for com- 

 position, 1892, 

 and appearing 

 as pianist and 

 conductor of 

 his own works 

 in London, 

 1899. He taught music in Moscow 

 from 1903, worked also in Dresden, 

 visited the U.S.A., 1909-10, and 

 was appointed conductor of the Im- 

 perial Opera, St. Petersburg, 1912. 

 His compositions include the operas 

 Aleko, 1893, and Francesca da 

 Rimini, 1906, orchestral symphon- 

 ies and piano concertos, chamber 

 music, songs, and piano pieces, the 

 prelude in C-sharp minor (Op. 3) 

 being particularly popular. 



Racine. City of Wisconsin, 

 U.S.A., the co. seat of Racine co. 

 It lies at the mouth of Root river, 

 on Lake Michigan, 24 m. S.S.E. of 

 Milwaukee, on the Chicago, Mil- 

 waukee and St. Paul, and the 

 Chicago and North-Western rlys. 

 It contains Raoine College and 

 Luther College, has a good harbour, 

 and carries on a large trade in 

 manufactured products, which 

 include wagons, carriages, motor 

 vehicles, boots and shoes, agri- 

 cultural machinery, hardware, and 

 tobacco. Racine was settled in 

 1834, incorporated hi 1843, and 

 became a city in 1848. Pop. 47,500. 

 Racine, JEAN (1639-99). French 

 dramatist and academician. Early 

 left an orphan, he was brought up 

 by his grandmother, a woman of 

 strong Jansenist leanings, and 

 through her influence was at six- 

 teen admitted to the school of 

 Port-Royal, where he devoted him- 

 self with special ardour to the 

 study of Greek literature. Thence 

 he passed to the College d'Har- 

 court, on leaving which he gave 

 himself up, to the great distress 



