150 THE TURF 



nothing can nowadays be got by plating ; 

 and the contest by heats, many of them 

 four miles with high weights, borders on 

 cruelty. On the other hand, out of nearly 

 thirty races last year, at Liverpool there 

 were only three run at heats, and not one 

 four-mile race. At Newmarket there have 

 been no heats, except for a town-plate, since 

 1772, a most beneficial change, and credit- 

 able to the feeling of British sportsmen. 

 This, indeed, is as it should be; man 

 should on no account inflict unnecessary 

 labour on the horse, and, above all, on the 

 race-horse. From no apparent motive but 

 that generous spirit of emulation which dis- 

 tinguishes him above most other animals, 

 and entitles him to our high regard, how 

 he struggles to serve and gratify us ! All 

 these things considered, we are inclined 

 to wish well to country racing, as in itself 

 a harmless privileged pleasure, which all 

 classes have the power to partake of; in- 

 deed, we envy not the man whose heart is 

 not gladdened by the many happy faces on 

 a country race-course. In fact, the passion 

 for racing, like that of hunting, is constitu- 

 tionally inherent in man, and we cannot 



