THE TURF 175 



There are upwards of a hundred horses be- 

 sides himself named for the stake ; more 

 than twenty will start for it ; and if he wins 

 it, it does not amount to much above his 

 cost price. But the purchaser will back him 

 to win it. Indeed ! back him against such 

 a field, several of which he knows have been 

 running forward, and others of which have 

 not appeared at all, and may be better than 

 his own ! No ; these three-thousand-guinea 

 horses are not bought to win the Derby ; 

 but the price makes them favourites 

 and then thousands are won by their losing 

 it. We believe, however, this trick is now 

 become too stale to succeed. 



Then there is another system which can- 

 not be too severely reprobated namely, 

 making a horse a favourite in the betting, 

 and then selling him on the eve of a great 

 play or pay race. We confess we could by 

 no means understand 'the white- washing,' 

 as it was termed by Lord Uxbridge, that the 

 late Mr. Beardsworth obtained by his ex- 

 planation of an affair of this nature at 

 Doncaster. The act of selling a horse 

 under such circumstances to a duke would 

 have been a culpable one; but what must 



