124 THE TURF 



time — but there are dangers attached to the experi- 

 ment. In the first place " the ring " are very ready to 

 estimate the situation of affairs, to refuse to bet against 

 the good thing, or at best to make the backers lay 

 long odds on it. It wins ; but the stake is paltry : 

 in order to make money by betting a very great risk 

 has to be undergone, and the danger is not yet over. 

 The winner of a selling race has, of course, to be sold 

 by auction ; the owner receives no more than the 

 entered selling price, probably ^loo, possibly ^50 (the 

 lowest sum recognised), and the surplus is divided 

 between the race fund and the owner of the second 

 horse. If the owner of the winner, who has effected 

 his coup, wants to retain his animal, he may very 

 likely have to give a great deal of money for it, as 

 the circumstances of the race, the confidence with 

 which it has been backed, and the ease with which it 

 won, have left no doubt about its value. Buying in 

 is, therefore, an exceedingly expensive business. An 

 actual example will best demonstrate the case. An 

 American importation, named Banquet II., won a 

 selling plate at Newmarket, worth ;^ioo ; he was 

 entered to be sold for another ^100 (so far as memory 

 serves — the record of the race in Rtiff's Guide omits 

 the selling price), and he was bought in for 1,510 

 guineas — ^1,585 los. The deficit, therefore, / 1,38 5, 

 had to be won by betting, which in this particular case 

 would have involved a risk of probably at least 

 ^1,000. The owner (Mr. Croker, the " Boss of 



