344 THE JOCKEY CLUB 



significance, and to which most of the famous sires 

 of the ' Stud Book ' (with the exception of the three 

 primal ' Sons of the Desert,' for reasons mentioned 

 already) can be traced. So far no better or more 

 legitimate Governors of the Turf could possibly be 

 desired ; and it has been shown that they themselves, 

 from 1753 to the present day, have kept continually 

 in the front rank as owners, breeders, and runners, 

 which makes them still more unexceptional as the 

 components of the governing body. 



On the other hand, it cannot be denied that they 

 have been sinners from the first in the matter of that 

 betting which is, and always has been, the curse of 

 horse-racing. It is true that they have only followed 

 the traditions of their fathers, who had no idea of 

 horse-racing unconnected with betting ; but there was 

 then no organised Ring, and the members of the 

 Jockey Club betted for the most part one against 

 another, a comparatively unobjectionable mode of 

 wagering. 



Certainly there were 'blacklegs,' such as Messrs. 

 Quick and Castle (who, about 1771-73, were ' warned 

 off ' certain race-courses, but not ' by order of the 

 Jockey Club '), Dennis O'Kelly, Dick England, and 

 others, to whom noblemen and gentlemen (including 

 the ' Culloden ' Duke of Cumberland) would con- 

 descend to lose their money (indeed, Mr. O'Kelly is 

 said to have held ' post obits ' to the amount of 

 20,OOOZ. from a notorious Lord Belfast), but they did 



