224 THE HORSE IN HISTORY 



the animals they would in a general way breed for 

 racing. 



The Spaniards of three centuries ago, we must 

 of course remember, were renowned for their 

 horsemanship far more highly than their descen- 

 dants of to-day are. 



In the reign of Charles I. horse races were run 

 in Hyde Park, a track having been laid down 

 there with great care. This meeting was im- 

 mensely popular, and "the inhabitants of London 

 and those parts near London assembled in their 

 thousands to watch the running horses," and in 

 most instances to squander large sums. 



"The Park first became under Charles I. 

 the fashionable society rendezvous," Mrs Alec 

 Tweedie tells us in her interesting volume, 

 " Hyde Park : Its History and Romance." " Its 

 greatest attraction, maybe, was the racing in the 

 Ring. The occasions when organised meetings 

 took place were special scenes of gaiety, and 

 were evidently thought important events, as even 

 among the State Papers there is preserved the 

 agreement for a race that took place there." 



In later years an attempt was made to revive 

 the Hyde Park race meeting, but the attempt was 

 vigorously opposed by the mass of the residents in 

 the neighbourhood, and by many others as well. 



A report of a race in Hyde Park appears in a 

 copy of The London Post, but is undated. As The 

 London Post ceased to exist after the year 1640, 



