BRITISH STABLES AND FOREIGN METHODS 



scruples. The least weakness in character exposes him to the dangerous condition 

 of a spoilt child of the Turf. Large retainers, not only for the first call upon his 

 services, but for the second and even the third, are pressed upon him, while 

 additional presents, and by no means infrequent bets, produce an annual total before 

 which two thousand guineas in bare riding fees shrinks into insignificance. 



No doubt this is one of the most remarkable results of modern racing ; and 

 its consequences are far-reaching, nor can the jockey be invariably blamed if his 



" Lucetta " by " Reveller" (1826). 



personal antecedents and previous education are not of a kind to combat successfully 

 the many temptations resulting from a system in which he is an indispensable factor. 

 If we consider the position of the best riders at the beginning of the nineteenth 

 century and compare it with what we know at the end, we shall find that the jockey 

 is now usually the master of most employers, and rarely the servant of any one at 

 all. The one thing he has to fear is the refusal of his licence, and the definite 

 punishment of the Jockey Club. Owners and trainers appear to have made up 

 their minds that this is satisfactory, and that it shall continue, if we are to judge 



VOL. III. I 



