160 THE JOCKEY CLUB 1750— 



' Eesolutions ' (with the signatures of twenty-one 

 members) and one ' Agreement ' (with seventeen sig- 

 natures), whereof the most important provided that 

 ' all disputes relative to racing at Newmarket ' should 

 ' for the future be determined by the three stewards 

 and two referees to be chosen by the parties con- 

 cerned ' ; that ' dead heats ' should ' be run off after 

 the last match on the same day ' ; and that ' in match 

 or sweepstake, without specified weights, the horses ' 

 should ' carry 8 stone 7 lb.,' but with specified 

 weights, ' the highest weight ' should be ' fixed at 

 8 stone 7 lb.,' a plain proof that the Club was drifting 

 away from the old 12 stone and 10 stone imposts 

 towards the light weights which in subsequent years 

 became ridiculous and led to no end of controversy. 

 In 1772 the Club does not appear to have published 

 any resolution or agreement of public importance. 

 Meanwhile, under the auspices of the Club, sport at 

 Newmarket had been promoted by the establishment 

 (in 1765) of the July Meeting, of the Houghton Meet- 

 ing (1770), and of the Craven Meeting (1771, when 

 two-year-olds were first officially admitted to compete 

 with older horses, in the eponymous Craven Stakes), 

 making altogether the seven Meetings to which the 

 racing world thenceforward became accustomed, 

 though they were sometimes reduced to six (when the 

 Second Spring was abandoned for many years), some- 

 times (as in 1890, by the introduction of a Second 

 July) increased to eight. We have now reached the 



