HANDBOOK OF THE TURF. 53 



Class. The ranking together; a determination of the 

 particiihxr purse in which a horse may be entered, according to 

 the record he has made ; in racing, class is determined by the 

 ability of the horse to go fast for a distance and carry weight. 

 In some States the definition of class has been established 

 by legisl-ative enactment, as in Ohio, where the law says : 

 " Class is deterndned by the public performance of a horse in 

 any former contest or trial of speed, as proved by the printed 

 rules of any society or association under which the proposed 

 contest is advertised to be conducted." Other States have laws 

 exactly similar to this. See Law. 



Classic Races. A term applied by universal consent 

 throughout the turf world, to the five great races of the Eng- 

 lish turf, viz.: The Derby, founded in 1780 ; the Oaks, origi- 

 nated in 1779, for fillys only; the St. Leger, founded in 1776, 

 in compliment to Lieut.-Gen. Anthony St. Leger of Park Hill, 

 England; the One Thousand, and the Two Thousand Guineas, 

 established in 1809. 



Clay. One of the great American trotting families, 

 founded by Andrew Jackson, 4, by Young Bashaw, a Barb, 

 imported from Tripoli, in 1820 ; dam unknown. He was foaled 

 at Salem, N. Y., in 1827, and died at Knightstown, Penn., in 

 1843. Among his most noted sons as trotting sires, were 

 Henry Clay, 8, foaled in 1837; dam Lady Surrey, a pacing 

 mare of unknown pedigree; and Long Island Black Hawk, a 

 trotter and sire of high quality. After passing through many 

 hands, Henry Clay went blind, and died in April, 1876. From 

 him comes the line of sires known for a number of generations 

 by the name of Cassius M. Clay. The Patchen branch of the 

 Clays originated wdth George M. Patchen, 30, by C. M. Clay, 

 dam by a son of imported Trustee. Other founders of cele- 

 brated branches of the Clays are American Clay, 34 ; Harry 

 Clay, 45, and The Moor, 870. 



Cleft of the Frog-. The division in the middle line 

 of the frog of the foot. In healthy feet it consists of only a 

 single depression. 



Clerk of the Course. The person who acts as Secre- 

 tary to the board of judges during a race. 



Clerk of the Scales. [Eng.] The weigher at a race. 



Clicking; Forging; Over-reaching. The act of 

 striking the toes of the hind foot or shoe, against the heel of 

 the corresponding fore foot or shoe, when the horse is in 

 motion. It is due to the imperfect conformation of the horse, 

 or to improper dressing of the feet, and cannot be classed as a 

 vice or an unsoundness. 



