134 THE RACING WORLD 



with an electric bell. As soon as the competitors 

 are distinguishable I fix my glasses upon them and 

 watch with all possible attention. Practice, I 

 suppose, no doubt enables a judge to pick out the 

 winner, as a general rule, while the horses are still 

 some distance off, but general rules are not to be 

 considered. It seems certain sometimes that one 

 of two or three will win, when another that has 

 not been included in the reckoning comes with a 

 rush and just gets home. The judge must on no 

 account follow his field all the way, for if he did 

 the deceptive angles would assuredly perplex him. 

 He watches the horses from the moment he can 

 make out clearly what is happening, and so con- 

 tinues to watch till the leaders are five-and-twenty 

 or thirty yards from him : then he puts down his 

 glasses, gets the line between the two posts, and 

 the nose that crosses that line first wins. He has 

 no angle to bother and confuse him, and, in fact, 

 after a little of the practice which accustoms him 

 to the work, it is really difficult to make a mis- 

 take. According to whether the jacket carried 

 by the winner be light or dark he knows just 

 whereabouts in his list to look for the number ; 

 his man is waiting instructions to put it in the 

 frame to be hoisted, and he is told. " No. 3 " it 

 was in the race quoted, and a very close finish. 



