RACING SERVANTS: OLD STYLE AND NEW. 107 



The modus operandi is described 1 as follows : When these 

 astute individuals meet together, the trainers, so to speak, take 

 the chair and guide the proceedings. The jockeys furnish 

 information as to all the trials they have ridden in, with obser- 

 vations on the running of horses in public races wherein they 

 have taken part ; the touts report the work done by the horses 

 which are considered to have a chance, and then the betting- 

 men telegraph all over England to invest the subscribed 

 capital ; for, be it remembered, they are too wary to bet much 

 openly on the course, or the money would soon be traced. 

 Later on, when the jockeys are weighed, and going to the post, 

 the interchange of a few talismanic words causes most of the 

 riders to stand on the favoured one, and thus every temptation 

 to rascality is proffered. 



Nor does the matter end here, for there is yet another 

 organised body on the turf, namely, the Ring. It is said that 

 there is a man now earning his living by following up the 

 backing fraternity, his business being to receive telegrams from 

 all parts of the kingdom, one hour before every race, stating 

 what horse is backed by the Syndicate, and his information 

 is well worth paying for by the Ring, who, the moment the 

 numbers go up, know what to make first favourite, ofttimes to 

 the consternation of the owner, whose chances of getting on at 

 reasonable terms may easily be calculated. 



Here are wheels within wheels with a vengeance ! It 

 must have been more than a suspicion of these complications 

 which caused Mr. Alexander, in the Houghton Meeting of 

 1883, to urge upon the stewards the full and immediate exer- 

 cise of their discretionary powers. 



Therefore, in the beginning of 1884, Lord Cadogan and his 

 colleagues, Lord March and Lord Zetland, gave notice through 

 the 'Calendar,' that henceforth betting or ownership by jockeys 

 would be regarded as a misdemeanour, punishable by suspen- 

 sion of licence, and followed up this notice by certain action to 



1 The authors state what is currently reported without in any way vouching 

 for the truth of the assertion. 



