The Whippet. 26 



the whippet, attempts were made to form clubs with 

 more or less ''tone " about them to encourage dog 

 racing, but none of them got beyond an initial stage, 

 although they were no doubt considerably assisted 

 by the publication by Mr. L. U. Gill, of Freeman 

 Lloyd's " Whippet or Race Dog," a very complete 

 compendium of all that appertained to that dog and 

 its sport. Then at the Ladies' Kennel Association 

 show in 1895, held in the Ranelagh Club grounds, 

 whippet racing formed one of the attractions (?). 

 It, however, fell flat, and generally the attempt to 

 popularise this sport with the better class of people in 

 the south of England has, to say the least, not been 

 a success. Its surroundings have not, as a rule, been 

 of the highest in the social scale, nor have the rabbit 

 coursing matches and tests of speed always been 

 conducted by its owners in the fairest way possible. 

 Various tricks are tried by the unscrupulous to 

 prevent an opponent's dog winning, and a trainer or 

 his friend has to be a sharp man in his line, to run 

 successfully the gauntlet of all that is placed in his 

 way during a match for money where such dogs 

 compete. And it must be confessed that, not- 

 withstanding the fairness, honesty, and firmness of 

 the ow^ners of the enclosed grounds where dog races 

 and coursing take place, and of the umpires and 

 referees, the general spirit of the sport is not the 



