150 THE RACING WORLD 



as possible, and it is then his business to spring the 

 barrier. The gate certainly gives the boys con- 

 fidence, and confidence is an enormous help 

 towards success. 



I doubt if any racing official is, on the whole, 

 more unjustly criticised than the starter, though, 

 of course, it may be that any one who exercises 

 any particular profession thinks that he is peculiarly 

 ill-used and suffers from adverse comment more 

 than anybody else. A man with a grievance is 

 generally apt to be rather a nuisance, I am well 

 aware, even in the case when his grievance is well 

 founded ; but I can scarcely be expected to let 

 slip this opportunity of making some remarks on 

 the manner in which starters are, as I think readers 

 will presently be willing to admit, often unjustly 

 censured. Most of this criticism levelled at the 

 starter comes from men who are watching (what 

 they can see of) his proceedings from the stand ; 

 and I have no hesitation in saying that they very 

 rarely have the least idea of what has actually 

 happened. Comparatively few people come down 

 to look on at a start, for reasons that are sufficiently 

 obvious and natural. Men want to see the finish, 

 and the starting-post is, in most cases, a consider- 

 able distance from the stands, a visit to it involving 

 a longish walk and consequent loss of time. I 



