146 THE TURF 



TIME 



Occasionally in reports of races a comment is 

 appended to the effect that the time was so many 

 minutes, seconds, and fifths of seconds. The chances 

 are that the figures lack correctness ; but, if they 

 happen to be accurate, they are utterly worthless for 

 all practical purposes. The accuracy is to be doubted, 

 because in this country men have little experience 

 of taking time, and as a matter of fact, when it is done, 

 the totals are usually found to vary considerably on 

 different watches ; moreover, when so little as fifths of 

 a second are reckoned, it is to be noted that horses do 

 not start exactly at the post, but " at such reasonable 

 distance behind the starting-post as the starter thinks 

 necessary." After the flag has fallen, therefore, and 

 before the precise distance-line is crossed, some fifths 

 of a second must often be occupied. Of course it is 

 obvious that the animal which really covers a given 

 distance in exceptionally short time must have great 

 speed. No one can deny that. But the utter worth- 

 lessness of the " time test " is proved by the circum- 

 stance that horses which are unquestionably bad have 

 very frequently won races in better time than that 

 taken by horses universally acknowledged to be of 

 the very first rank. It is far from certain that a mile 

 has ever been covered in better time than the i min. 

 39 sees, recorded for Brag in the Brighton Cup, for 

 about this time there seemed to be an unusual aeree- 



