THE POSITION OF THE^ TURF 7 



lays out his paddocks, builds hovels, and then begins to buy- 

 mares. The last-named, so long as he keeps correct ac- 

 counts, is of course in a position to know what capital he 

 has invested, and what amount of profit or loss he is making, 

 but the man who breeds young stock because his father did 

 so before him is in a very different position, and can only 

 tell by his bank-book whether he is making or losing money. 

 Then there is the yeoman or tenant farmer — generally a 

 Yorkshire or Lincolnshire man, or a Midlander — who 

 gradually acquires a general knowledge of breeding and 

 who buys a mare or two. This man probably includes 

 his venture in his ordinary farming business, and if he has 

 his wits about him he is very likely to succeed. Gradually 

 his stud increases in size, and from humble beginnings 

 he arrives at a big and generally a paying business. His 

 original outlay has probably been very small, and the 

 increase in the size of his stud is proof of his success, the 

 new-comers having most likely been bought out of profits. 



Nevertheless, though there are exceptions, both among 

 large and small breeders, it is a fact that many of the 

 yearlings sold at auction represent a loss to their breeders, 

 and unless a man is fortunate enough to sell one or two 

 at prices which will make the whole sale represent a profit 

 he quickly gets disheartened, and retires from the business. 

 Of course there are the very rich men, who will stand an 

 annual loss rather than give in ; but a study of the whole 

 question reveals the fact that public breeding is in a poor 

 way, and this points to a curtailment of the annual output 

 of English yearlings. 



Then comes the question of foreign importations, and I 

 have seen so much of these during the last ten years that 

 I am inclined to welcome the change. It can hardly be 

 denied that the average modern English racehorse is a poor 

 creature. Nine out of ten of those which have been before 

 the public of late have neither constitution nor stamina. 

 Speed they certainly have, but there are far too many horses 

 who cannot travel an inch farther than five or six furlongs, 

 and many more who cannot get beyond a mile. These are 

 not the sort of animals to maintain the supremacy of the 



