CHAPTER XII 



RACING IN FRANCE 



An excellent and erudite writer on racing in France, 

 the Marquis des Farges, whose books and contributions 

 to journals are signed " S. F. Touchstone," traces the 

 sport back to the reign of Charles V. From 1370, 

 annual meetings are reported to have been held at 

 Semur (Cote d'Or). Mention is made of a match run 

 in the Bois de Boulogne in 1651 between the Prince 

 d'Harcourt and the Due de Joyeuse ; and in the reign 

 of Louis XV, Eno-lish horses had grained considerable 

 reputation across the Channel. After the Treaty of 

 Paris, 1763, French gentlemen with a fancy for the 

 sport are stated to have visited England with the ob- 

 ject of studying the methods of training and systems 

 of racing then in vogue. The famous Gimcrack ran in 

 the colours of one of them, the Comte de Lauraguais. 

 But it is certainly from 1833 that the establishment 

 of regular racing in France may be said to date. 



Lord Henry Seymour was then a resident in 

 Paris, and introduced many English manners and 

 customs to the Parisians. He was emphatically a 



