156 THE TURF 



post. The next is the Ditch Mile, and the last is 

 the T.Y.C., capitals which stand for "Two Year Old 

 Course." Every course, it may be remarked, has its 

 T.Y.C. extending to something from 5 to 6 furlongs ; 

 thus the T.Y.C. at Newmarket (that is to say on 

 the Rowley Mile course) is 5 furlongs 140 yards ; 

 at Ascot it is 5 furlongs 136 yards ; at Doncaster the 

 "Red House in" does duty for a T.Y.C, and is 

 5 furlongs 152 yards ; at Epsom and Goodwood it 

 is 6 furlongs exactly. The Cambridgeshire used to 

 finish, as a few races do still, at the Criterion Course 

 winning post, commonly called "the top of the town," 

 but in 1888 the course which had been in use since 

 this handicap was first established, in 1839, was altered. 

 The Cambridgeshire now finishes at the Rowley Mile 

 stand, and is run over exactly 2,000 yards, that is to 

 say a mile and a " distance " ; for a " distance " is not 

 a vague term as some people appear to suppose, but 

 a measurement of 240 yards. The hill from the 

 Rowley Mile stand to the winning post at the " top 

 of the town " is a severe one, and forms a useful test 

 of a horse's staying powers. Here it was that the 

 old Beacon course, about which one often reads in 

 old racing histories, came to an end. This course 

 was 4 miles i furlong 177 yards in length. It is very 

 seldom used now, never, indeed, unless the Whip is 

 challenged for. On the Rowley Mile and its ap- 

 purtenances are held the three Spring and three 

 Autumn meetings, called the Craven, the First 



