JOCKEYS 23 



from /^loo, the smallest amount permitted by the 

 Rules of Racing, up to over ^10,000. In many cases 

 owners have bets which amount to thousands more, 

 and in addition to these there is the enormously 

 increased value of the horse which has the reputation 

 of having won a great race. 



A few names stand out among recent or con- 

 temporary riders whose styles were in many cases 

 widely different but who attained the same admirable 

 results. It may be noted that the most successful 

 jockeys for many years past have, as a rule, averaged 

 about one win in four mounts. In some cases this has 

 been exceeded, as it was notably by the late Fred 

 Archer ; but at the same time it must be remem- 

 bered that he had a great advantage, inasmuch as 

 owners were always eager to secure his services. 

 If they thought their horses had a good chance of 

 winning they were always anxious to engage Archer, 

 unless, of course, they had at command the services of 

 one of his few capable rivals. During one year, when 

 Archer rode an enormous number of races, from 600 

 to 700, his successes averaged two in five. He possessed 

 one of the chief secrets of his profession, the ability to 

 understand the peculiarities of the various horses he 

 rode. His principal fault was extreme severity ; what 

 might happen to a horse afterwards appeared to be 

 no concern of his ; his mind was set on winning the 

 race he was at the moment contesting, and not a few 

 two-year-olds on whom he had won were good for 



