THE YORKSHIRE MEETINGS 145 



Ocean at Redcar is absolutely a luxury ; and it may be 

 mentioned that Redcar possesses good hotel accommodation, 

 while five miles away, at Saltburn-by-the-Sea, are two of 

 the best provincial hotels in the kingdom. As it is, many 

 racing men go straight from Lewes to Saltburn, and stay 

 there until the York Meeting, and many there are who 

 prefer this Northern tour to any other fortnight of the 

 racing year. 



Pontefract is a prosperous racing centre, and its three 

 meetings, held in spring, summer, and early autumn, are 

 always well attended. It has been spoken of as " the 

 Goodwood of the North," but beyond the fact that the 

 racecourse is in a park there seems to be absolutely no 

 justification for the title. Catterick is the real Goodwood 

 of the North, as will be presently shown ; but Pontefract 

 has better racing, and being near the southern end of the 

 county, and about only four hours by rail from Newmarket, 

 it can draw largely on horses trained on the classic heath. 

 The course is oval-shaped, of a fairly give-and-take descrip- 

 tion, and rather more than two miles round. There is also 

 a straight five furlongs, and this, as also is the run-in of the 

 round course, is all on a slight rise. The principal stakes 

 are the Champagne, for two-year-olds, and the Great West 

 Riding Handicap of a mile and a half, and good fields at 

 all the meetings are the rule rather than the exception. 



Beverley has only one meeting each year, at which the 

 sport does not rise beyond plating, and is almost entirely 

 confined to Northern-trained horses. The course is prettily 

 situated on Beverley Westwood, quite close to the town, 

 is nearly a mile and half round, and oval in conformation. 

 The run-in of the round course is half a mile, and there 

 is also a straight six furlongs, which rises all the way to 

 the winning-post. Thirsk has two meetings every year, one 

 in the spring and one in October, and as a rule at the latter 

 fixture fields are remarkably large. The course is situated 

 between the railway station and the town, and is an oval of 

 one mile one furlong and forty yards, the turns at either end 

 being rather sharp. There is also a straight six furlongs, 

 almost level, a remark which also applies to the round 



