46 RACING. 



of racehorses, arrives sadly at the conclusion that the turf is 

 little better than a huge swindling machine. And yet by racing, 

 and by private enterprise in racing only, can our breed ol 

 horses be maintained ; for since the reign of Queen Anne no 

 Act has been passed which in any way promotes this object, 

 and the Queen's plates, the only assistance vouchsafed by 

 Government, have now been abolished. 



The absolute right to claim information from trainers, put 

 forward by some sporting writers, is shown clearly enough in 

 fthe following extracts from a newspaper published in January 

 1884: 



The classes of trainers with whom the Jockey Club have no 

 sympathy have never within my experience been of any service 

 to sporting writers either by word or deed, and I could give abun- 

 dant proof of this if I cared to enter further into the subject. By 

 this remark I do not Intend to insinuate that turf writers care one 

 iota for any information that can be afforded by a trainer as to the 

 merits or demerits of racehorses under their care ; for in many, 

 cases the experienced scribe may know more than even the trainer 

 himself— particularly as to the intentions of owners — but there are 

 scores of little matters about which a good man in the calling may 

 open his mouth without at all interfering with the interests of his 

 employer. I am quite willing to believe that much which is repre- 

 hensible in trainers, and perhaps in some jockeys, belongs to the 

 evil circumstances of the day, and the position in which these most 

 prominent men in connection with the turf find themselves placed ; 

 but it is their right and duty to govern themselves, and not to be 

 ruled by others, when the question involved is to act honourably 

 with the public. It is all very well to say that, ' It is every man's 

 business to take care of himself,' but he cannot do this at the exr 

 pense of honour if he wishes to long survive on the turf. A trainer 

 who surrounds his horses and most of his dealings with mystery is 

 an abomination to straightforward and honourable racing men, as 

 mystery is but another name for falsehood, and its very breath in- 

 fects the independence and sterling value of truth. 



Now the above was aimed at a trainer who, although he 

 had attained an unpleasant notoriety, had one great merit as a 

 paid servant : viz. he knew how to hold his tongue ; yet here, 



