BEGINNINGS OF RACING. 5 



generally to dealers in horses, and related, as has 

 often been argued, more to bargaining and pricing 

 than to riding. 



In the succeeding reign horse -racing as a 

 pastime — that is orqanised racing — appears to 

 have been established, grafted most likely on the 

 practice already referred to of " showing off," by 

 a few runs, the paces of such animals as were 

 exposed for sale. When the pastime was first 

 established, racing took place only at fixed 

 periods, generally during the Easter and Whit- 

 suntide holidays. The racing of those days is 

 alluded to in an old metrical romance : 



In Somertyme at Whitsuntyde, 

 Wlien Knights most on horseback ryde ; 

 A Cours let they make on a day, 

 Steeds and Palfraye, for to essaye 

 Which horse that best may run. 

 Three miles the Cours was then, 

 Who that might ryde him shoulde 

 Have forty pounds of redy golde. 



Records of racing and notices of the horse as a 

 courser begin after this time to be frequent. In 

 the latter part of the reign of Edward II., and in 

 the beginning of the reign of his successor, prices 

 are occasionally quoted for that class of horse. 



Taking now a leap to the reign of " bluff 

 King Hal," the belief that horse-racing, as a 

 pastime, had by that time taken root, and was 

 gradually deepening its hold on the affections of 

 the English people, can hardly be resisted. In a 

 document relating to the Royal household, men- 

 tion is made of His Majesty's horses as follows : 

 " Coursers, young horses, hunting geldings, 

 hobies, Barbary horses, stallions, geldings, mail 



