io6 THE RACING CHRONOMETER 



questionably superior to Eclipse at level weights. 

 Jockeyship, training, and breeding are now more 

 thoroughly understood than they were in any 

 previous century. Nevertheless, there is some- 

 thing aggravating in not being able to definitely 

 decide if our horses can gallop quicker than those 

 of our forefathers. So, everything taken into 

 consideration, it behoves us to hand down to our 

 descendants a record of our best times, carefully 

 noting also the state of the "going." But, after 

 all, when we have taken the trouble to do so, 

 the race-goers of the future may regard our time- 

 pieces as inaccurate recorders. Possibly a new 

 school of riding may have been founded that will 

 revolutionise equestrianism, and for all we know 

 the new racehorse may be trained by means of 

 stored up electricity. And though such a sugges- 

 tion sounds exceedingly far-fetched, it becomes 

 less improbable if we view the situation in a 

 logical light. We have improved the breed of 

 racehorse, so why should not the studs of our 

 descendants attain a still greater speed .'* 



Let us again look at the old prints of half- 

 forgotten meetings, and read the size of the 

 stakes. Why, they seem as worthless as the 

 animals that competed for them. We should 

 shake our heads and declare the ancient time- 

 keeper must have been mistaken if he declared 

 that Charles the Second's best racehorse galloped 

 quicker than Persimmon. 



So, casting all prejudice aside, we gradually 

 perceive that we must strike a happy medium. 

 The chronometer must not be solely depended 



