BRITISH TURF. 23 



CHAPTER II. 



Racing in Great Britain, from 1800 to 1805 — Preliminary remarks 

 — Amusing wager — Match for speed between a race horse and a 

 grey-hound — Famous match between Sir Solomon and Cockfighter 

 — 140 miles done in seven hours and thirty-four minutes on com- 

 mon hacks — Anecdote of Sir Charles Bunbury's training groom — 

 Death of the Earl of Grosvenor — Anecdote of old Elwes, the 

 miser — A Knowing one out-Avitted — Mrs. Thornton's celebrated 

 matches against Mr. Flint and Buckle the jockey — Anecdote of 

 Colonel Thornton. 



1800. — Already at this early period had the 

 system introduced by Sir Charles Bunbury, of run- 

 ning horses at two years old, deteriorated the 

 speed and stoutness of our breed of race horses, 

 as compared with the celebrated horses of the pre- 

 ceding century, whose pedigrees and performances 

 we have given. A writer of that day makes the 

 following judicious remarks on this subject: " The 

 effect of the Royal purses and plates has corres- 

 ponded with their meritorious object — the increase 

 of blood horses in these countries, which are now 

 superior, in this respect, to any other in the world. 

 But this, Uke some other things, is capable of im- 

 provement, and the present moment, when the 

 subject has come under the eye of authority, is 



