RACING OFFICIALS 141 



all forfeits, entrances, etc., are then paid for him as 

 long as the money lasts, and his winnings are put to 

 his credit. He may win so much that he can draw 

 money for private use, or he may have to replenish his 

 account. Some member of the firm has almost always, 

 if not invariably, filled the position of " Keeper of the 

 Match Book," his business being to receive the stakes 

 and collect entrance money and all other funds be- 

 longing to the Club, and he is entitled to charge half- 

 a-crown for every horse entered to run at Newmarket. 

 Once a year, shortly before the Derby, he makes a 

 handicap of the chief three-years-old, thus giving a 

 quasi judicial opinion as to their relative merit. Until 

 a few years since, Messrs. Weatherby were handi- 

 cappers to the Jockey Club, but they have resigned. 

 They charge owners whose business they conduct 

 fees for their services. 



