610 HISTORY OF THE 



CHAPTER XVII. 



The leading characters on the Turf at the present day — Betting — 

 The method of " making a Book" — Table of the betting on the 

 Riddlesworth, 2000 and 1000 Guineas Stakes, at Newmarket, the 

 Derby and Oaks, the Ascot Cup and the Doncaster St. Leger, for 

 the last twenty years, showing how often the "Field", and how 

 often the "Favorite" had won &c. — Tattersal's — Method by which 

 Adventurers get into credit in the Betting-ring, &o. &c. 



The following brief sketch of the " doings" of 

 some of the leading characters on the Turf, at the 

 present time, may, perhaps, be of some interest to 

 the majority of our readers. In the first rank 

 among these we find the present Duke of Grafton, 

 whose early success on the Turf was greatly owing 

 to the excellent stud* he inherited from his fa- 

 ther, who was an excellent judge of racing, and a 

 frequent winner of all the great stakes of his day. 



The present Duke has won the Derby Stakes 

 four times, and the Oaks' nine, besides most of 

 the good things at Newmarket and other places. 



* The excellence of the Grafton stud may be said to have been de- 

 rived from the late Duke's famous mare Prunella, by Highflyer out 

 of Promise, and whose pedigree goes back to Boy Bolton, Darley's 

 Arabian, and the Byerley Turk &:c., but to the utmost limit a pedi- 

 gree can go ; viz : to the White Turk, the Taflblet Barb, and the 

 Natural Barb mare. This celebrated dam produced eleven first rate 

 horses, all of whose names, like her own, commenced with the letter 

 P., and it has been computed realized upwards of £100,000 to the 

 Grafton family 



