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not iujure the populace, and he also made the people desist from 

 trickery to impede the barberi, and interfere, and thus enable some 

 favorite to \vin. 



Many of our racing customs have the flavor of antiquity. The 

 Roman jockeys wore gayly colored jackets and caps, as do ours ; a 

 trumpet summoned the contestants to the race, as the modern bugle 

 called the horses to the post, and our " flag " had its counterpart in the 

 handkerchief which the Roman judge dropped as a signal to start. 



Some writers declare that the Romans introduced horse-racing into 

 Britain, alleging that remains of race-courses at York and other places 

 are relics of the time when " Rome, for Empire far renowned, trampled 

 on a thousand States." Others contest that racing came into Britain 

 through German sources, horse-racing being " an accompaniment of the 

 religious cults of some of Germanic tribes." To whichever people 

 belongs the honor of introducing the sport into England, it is certain 

 that Romans during their sway encouraged it. The first specific record 

 we have of horse-racing as a sport in England is in the writings of 

 Fitz Stephen, a Canterbury monk, who describes the races run at 

 Smithfield in the twelfth century, whither came " earls, barons, knights, 

 and a swarm of citizens." He describes the impatience and velocity 

 of the horses, the efforts of the jockeys with whip and spur, and the 

 enthusiasm of the people. An Australian writer somewhat flippantly 

 describes \yilliam the Conqueror as " an ardent sport," and credits a 

 certain Earl of Shrewsbury of that time with being the first to import 

 horses from Spain for the improvement of the breed of English horses. 

 Knights raced at Whitsuntide in the reign of Richard I, for " ready 

 gold ;" racing was encouraged by King John, and running horses 

 were amons: the assets of Edward III. The wars of the houses of 

 York and Lancaster interrupted racing and breeding, but it revived 

 in the Tudor period. In the reign of Henry VIII public races were 

 established at Chester. This monarch encouraged racing and breeding, 

 and his great minister, Cardinal Woolsey, was " a confirmed lover of 

 horses " and an extensive breeder. Queen Elizabeth actively engaged 

 in racing, keeping a stable of race-horses in training at Greenwich, and 

 during the reign of James I racing and breeding received a mighty 

 impetus. The young king brought with him from Scotland the love 

 of fleet horses, and he imported Arabian and barb horses extensively. 

 The great hold which the turf has upon the English people, and its 



