126 THE TURF 



heavily in order to be able to afford to buy in his 

 horse if he wins ; and if he is beaten he is very likely 

 to lose the animal for a ridiculously inadequate sum,, 

 as well as his bets. It happens on occasions that an 

 owner loses money by winning a selling race. His 

 horse runs better than he has expected it would do,, 

 and he thinks he would like to keep it. He has not 

 backed it, and so, entered to be sold for ^loo, he may 

 have to bid, say ^500, to retain it ; which means that 

 he must pay ^400 for division between the owner of 

 the second and the race fund — ^500, less the ^100 

 entered selling price. He is consequently ^300 out 

 of pocket, plus the jockey's winning fee of five guineas, 

 and incidental expenses. These gambles are not 

 healthy ; they are not in accordance with the true 

 spirit of the sport, and by way of preventing them a 

 rule was some time since instituted in France that 

 horses might be claimed for the entered selling price 

 plus the value of the stake, before a race was run. 

 The owner who had intended to "have a dash" on a 

 useful horse that was put in to meet inferior class 

 animals might thus be very awkwardly circumvented. 

 There was a good deal of common sense in the idea,, 

 but apparently it did not answer. 



It is inevitable that mistakes should be made, and 

 at times horses rise from the ranks of the selling 

 platers and greatly distinguish themselves. Their 

 owners have lost patience with them after a disap- 

 pointment, it may be ; or they improve in an unex- 



