84 THE ENGLISH TURF 



the top of the stands, but from the lower balconies the 

 horses are invisible for a few hundred yards when rounding 

 the loop. The track is of a give-and-take nature, downhill 

 at first for something like half a mile, and then a gradual 

 rise to the Craven Course starting-post. Round the loop 

 there is another sharp rise, and to the junction with the 

 straight course it is all on the ascent. Then come two 

 furlongs of downhill, whilst the finish is slightly on the 

 ascent again. Such a varied two miles and a half on such 

 grand old turf, such a Cup course, in a word, is not to be 

 found on any other racecourse in the kingdom, for, as 

 already remarked, horses running over the same distance 

 at Newmarket are out of sight for the first mile, while on 

 the early portion of the Flat they are most difficult to make 

 out unless the light is particularly good and the race-glasses 

 very powerful. The T.Y.C. at Goodwood is six furlongs 

 straight, downhill at first, and with a rise to the finish. The 

 Old Mile starting-post is on the upper or eastern side of 

 the loop, but it is not the last mile of the Cup Course, 

 as the horses do not go to the top of the hill, but turn 

 on to the inner course and join the straight lower down. 

 The Craven Course of a mile and two furlongs is from the 

 western end of the loop inwards to the straight course, and 

 then home, and this is in most years one of the most 

 popular of the Goodwood courses, and nothing like so 

 difficult as are some courses of a mile and a quarter. 



As has been the case with many other old meetings, the 

 Goodwood programme has known many changes. Sixty 

 years ago very little added money was given, and whereas 

 nowadays there are generally twenty-seven races advertised 

 for the four days, the cards were then considerably shorter 

 than they are now. Thus, in 1838 there were five races 

 on each of the four days, yet, sixteen years later, in 1854, 

 no fewer than forty-three races were run, the collective 

 value of which amounted to iCs^>3^9> ^^^ ^'^^ which 242 

 horses started. This was when the meeting was at its 

 zenith, during that period of Turf history when Lord George 

 Bentinck dominated the councils of the Jockey Club. 



During the last quarter of a century there has been a 



