HANDICAPS. 149 



Turfites are living to-day who love to dwell 

 on the early days of the Rood Dee, and who 

 describe the winter betting over the great race 

 as being really marvellous in amount. At the 

 period referred to the doings of horses in training 

 were not made public in the fashion which now 

 prevails. Bettors long ago were kept ignorant of 

 the condition of the horses, and animals which 

 had no chance to win were backed long before 

 the entries for the race were due. "A hundred 

 to one against anything " was in many instances 

 a common offer for next Cup early in the pre- 

 ceding December, whilst some list-keepers (they 

 were numerous in those days) offered double 

 these odds. Betting went on with great vigour 

 till the fall of the flag, and as large fields were 

 competing for the Cup, there was no lack of a 

 choice of investments. For this popular trophy 

 as many as forty-three horses started in 1852, 

 but now, so greatly has the interest in the race 

 fallen off, there are not usually many more horses 

 in the list of entries. 



In former days a horse entered for the 

 Chester Cup might easily have been backed to 

 win in one hand from ;^3o,ooo to ;^5o,ooo at 

 a fair price in the way of odds. At the present 

 time if a horse were backed to win ;^ 10,000, 

 it would probably start at something like 5 to 2 

 oil it. 



The Great Metropolitan Stakes, run for at 

 Epsom, was at one period a very heavy medium 

 of turf speculation, but is now at a low ebb. For 

 this race about thirty-five years ago there was 

 wont to be from fifteen to twenty-nine runners — 

 a number that admitted of much betting. Handi- 



