ON THE RACE COURSE. 211 



If the ground be diversified with ascents and de- 

 scents at moderate intervals in a course of two or four 

 miles, I think it rather an advantage, as it gives an 

 equal chance to the little stout horse as to the large 

 long striding horse. Generally speaking, they all give 

 their races more kindly over such ground, than they 

 would do in running a similar length over a dead flat. 



The next thing to notice relative to a course is the 

 rubbing-house, or as it is called by some, the saddling- 

 house, being used for both purposes. This building 

 should be erected at a distance of about two or three 

 hundred yards beyond the weighing-post. It will here 

 be somewhat out of the noise and bustle of the crowd, 

 and it will be near to where the horses pull up after 

 sweating or running. 



The walls of this building should be in height, from 

 the surface of the ground, twelve feet, by sixty-four in 

 length, and the space between them, from eighteen to 

 twenty feet. The stalls in this building should be 

 eight feet wide, to give sufficient room to the boys to 

 work on each side of the horses after they have been 

 sweating, and at the time of their being saddled to run. 

 The partitions between the stalls should also be suffici- 

 ently high so as to prevent the horses from smelling to 

 each other over them, but there is no necessity for 

 either racks or mangers in any of these stalls. The 

 walls in front of the horses' heads should be boarded, 

 and rings should be fixed there to tie horses up occasi- 

 onally. Now, as it frequently happens that there are 

 horses from different stables not only going to sweat 



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