THE POSITION OF THE TURF 21 



get the pick of the mares, and certain other horses — perhaps 

 just as good looking, as well bred, and as good performers 

 — only get moderate mares, or have to put up with those 

 whose blood does not nick. But in breeding fashion rules 

 supreme ; and as long as a stallion holds a really good 

 place in the winning sire list he is bound to have the chance 

 of more patronage than it is right for him to accept, and is 

 often offered at what is really an excessive figure. 



The reasons for this state of affairs seem to be fairly plain. 

 In the first place, some time ago the larger studs were 

 nearly all owned by great noblemen or large landed pro- 

 prietors. There were no weekly lists of winning sires, and 

 horse breeders, to a considerable extent, kept their own 

 particular breed in their own hands. Nowadays the ranks 

 of owners and of breeders are mostly recruited from the 

 world of commerce. Titled owners of large studs still exist, 

 but not in the numbers they did half a century ago. The 

 landed proprietor, if he has no other source of revenue 

 beyond his acres, cannot afford to breed or race, and in his 

 place we have the successful tradesman or manufacturer who 

 goes into the business heart and soul, but, at the same time, 

 always tries to, and often does, secure huge interest on his 

 outlay. He it is who buys a good Derby winner, or a stallion 

 who is making a mark, and at once booms him for all he is 

 worth. If he can secure a full list for three years he sees his 

 way to a recovery of his purchase money, and if the horse 

 continues his success beyond that time, all the rest is profit. 

 Buying successful stallions, or young sires who are sure 

 to catch the public fancy, is a rather clever form of gambling ; 

 but if the horse is new to the stud and has one successful 

 year early in his career, the trick is done, for he instantly 

 fills at an enhanced price for the two following seasons, and 

 the original outlay seldom exceeds what a horse can earn in 

 his first three years. 



It sometimes happens that buyers of this class of horse 

 are " stuck " with an animal who fails to catch the rank and 

 file of breeders, or who proves himself a bad sire, but as 

 a general rule the commercial racing man knows how to take 

 care of himself, and if he is not a good judge of horseflesh 



