BUSINESS OF HORSE-RACING. 79 



to be organised. A site for the meeting has 

 to be selected, and then a racecourse has to 

 be constructed. Commodious stables, either at 

 the place of meeting, or near it, must be pro- 

 vided, as well as offices for the various officials, 

 likewise accommodation for the public, in the 

 form of a grand stand having galleries from 

 which the different races may be witnessed. 

 For the officials, and jockeys, and reporters of 

 the press, rooms must be provided, as well as 

 those bars and dining-places for the sale of 

 viands, which are a prominent feature of our 

 racing paddocks. The administrative officers of 

 the meeting have to be appointed, either before 

 or after the course has been laid down ; they are, 

 as a rule, selected before the affair is planned. 

 There is also required a body of gentlemen to 

 act as stewards, who, when necessary, form a 

 court to which disputes arising in the course of 

 a meeting can be referred for immediate settle- 

 ment. Before a meeting can begin, the course 

 must be approved and have its racing time 

 fixed by the Jockey Club. 



The principal officials required for the conduct 

 of a race meeting are a clerk of the course, a 

 handicapper, a starter, and a judge. 



The clerk of the course receives — it is his 

 chief duty — the entries for the different races, 

 and also takes charge of the correspondence and 

 general clerical business which pertains to a race 

 meeting. This functionary is usually the main- 

 spring of the meeting, he may, however, be "the 

 hired servant " of the proprietors of the race- 

 course ; in reality his position is dependent on 

 how meetings he is connected with may be 



