8o HORSE-RACING IN ENGLAND 



(at so much a head, no doubt) at Beverley during 

 the agricultural meetings. The interesting spec- 

 tacle may still be open to the curious, for all that 

 can be discovered to the contrary ; but no posi- 

 tive assurance upon that point can be given 

 here. 



It was a little before this reign, in 1756, that there 

 was run at Black Hambleton, Yorks, a race (the 

 Royal Plate for five-year-old mares) which deserves 

 notice for the singular fact that every one of the 

 runners bore the name of iMary, reminding one of 

 'the Queen's Marys' and the doggerel about 'Mary 

 Beaton and Mary Seaton and Mary Carmichsel 

 and me ' (Mary, Queen of Scots), for the mares 

 in the order of finishing were Mary Tartar (Mr. 

 Robinson's), Mary Scott (Mr, Swinburne's), Mary 

 Grey (Mr. Sotheron's), Mary Regulus (Mr. Os- 

 baldeston's), and Mary Andrew (Mr. Umpleby's), 

 which looks very much as if some of the runners 

 had been started merely in the sportive vein 

 more characteristic of the olden than of the 

 modern horse-racing. 



It was early in this same reign that the ' Arab 

 blood,' which had undoubtedly done a great deal 

 for the English thoroughbred, began to fall under 



