'BEACON'S' VIEWS 179 



races have had an effect upon the deterioration of 

 racehorses, inasmuch as it has allowed, or rather it 

 has encouraged, the breeding of a very faulty kind 

 of horse, of a very useless kind of horse. A fast 

 horse without staying power ; a very useless sort 

 of animal." In answer to Lord Ribblesdale, Dr. 

 Fleming said that he attributed the increase of 

 roaring within the last few years in part to short 

 races. 



1 1 am further borne out in these views by the 

 weighty remarks of Mr. Joseph Osborne ("Beacon"), 

 in his day an observant breeder and an owner of 

 racehorses that distinguished themselves on the flat 

 and between the flags, who, in his " Horse-Breeders' 

 Handbook," says : "I regret that the innumerable 

 valuable opinions I have heard during my long 

 career recur to me in such a confused manner, as 

 regards their relative owners, that I cannot repro- 

 duce them with accuracy, for there was cer- 

 tainly a great divergence among them. My own 

 view, as formed upon them and independently, is 

 that the English thoroughbred has palpably de- 

 generated in stamina from several distinct causes. 

 Prominent among these (independently of the hap- 

 hazard manner they are now bred) is that which has 

 had direct effect upon their action and upon their 

 lungs — viz. the undue increase of ' sprint ' racing 

 and the style of training for it. The 'jumping off' 

 tactics which have come to be considered as an 

 important item in the training curriculum of a two- 

 year-old have, in my belief, had a disastrous effect 



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