288 STEEPLE-CHASING. 



tlirough a gateway, or more than loo yards along any road, 

 footpath, or driftway.' 



Seventeen starters went to the post, an Irish horse called 

 Rust being favourite at 7 to i. Another Irish horse, Naxon, 

 was at 8 to i, and a point more was procurable against Lottery, 

 ridden by Jem Mason, ' though, 5 to i taken just before starting ' 

 is parenthetically noted. How Lottery won with some ease has 

 often been told. It was said at the time that the good horse 

 cleared ten yards over the last hurdle — a big jump at the end of 

 a four-mile race — but this is doubted by some chroniclers. 

 The Irish division was much dissatisfied, and protested against 

 the made fences. That these were as fair for one as for the 

 other, and that objections should have been made before 

 instead of after the race, were obvious and sufficient answers to 

 the expressions of discontent. 



As the sport grew in popularity, the want of some authorita- 

 tive governing body became more and more apparent. Those 

 who were most anxious on behalf of steeple-chasing felt most 

 strongly that a judicial tribunal to govern and regulate steeple- 

 chasing, as the Jockey Club legislates for flat-racing, was an urgent 

 necessity. The first move was made by Mr. W. G. Craven, 

 Mr. B. J. Angell, and Mr. E. C. Burton, the first two well- 

 known owners of horses, and the last-named one of the most 

 successful of cross-country riders. 



Regular meetings increased in all directions, and as the 

 sport grew popular it grew infamous. It was, indeed, the 

 recognised refuge of all outcasts, human and equine, from the 

 legitimate Turf There was no sort of control over the conduct 

 of a steeple-chase meeting. Clerks of courses, owners and 

 riders, did what seemed good in their eyes ; and the worst 

 seemed good. Stewards of meetings there were ; but their 

 power was nil. The gravest punishment they could inflict on 

 an offender was to suspend him for the remainder of the meet- 

 ing ; and it might have been in the last race of the meeting in 

 which the rascality occurred : if not, very likely the culprits 



