INTRODUCTION. 13 



Register and Sporting Magazine," and, as its name indicates, 

 it at once became the authority on sporting events, and 

 the medium of communication on all questions of blood. 

 The early numbers of this work are very rich in pedigrees 

 of times then long past. Old gentlemen contributed much 

 from their recollection, private stud-books of past genera- 

 tions as well as the then present were hunted up, and the 

 piles of old newspapers were examined, and all contributed 

 to this one receptacle. Many of these pedigrees were very 

 badly expressed, and some of them most ingeniously ar- 

 ranged to cover defects ; and it is to be greatly regretted 

 that Mr. Skinner did not give more attention to this depart- 

 ment of his magazine, as it appears to have been his custom 

 to publish whatever was sent him in the shape of a pedigree, 

 and just as it was sent. Sets of this publication are now 

 exceedingly rare and valuable. I have taken the first ten 

 volumes of this work, coming down to the close of the year 

 1839, and compiled all that is known or there stated of the 

 blood of every named animal. 



This work has been done page by page, and paragraph 

 by paragraph. There are some animals, doubtless, named 

 in the course of the narrative in which no attempt is made to 

 give their blood, that do not here appear, but these instances 

 are exceedingly rare. My purpose and effort has been to 

 make clean and thorough wor~k of these ten volumes, and, if 

 a pedigree is not found in this book, you need not look for 

 it in the Turf Register prior to 1840. 



In 1833, Patrick Nisbett Edgar, Esq., of K C., published 

 a collection of pedigrees, entitled " The American Race-Turf 

 Register, Sportsman's Herald, and General Stud-Book, " 

 and the wordiness of the title is a very fair indication of the 

 character and style of the contents. 



