152 A MIRROR OF THE TURF. 



person whose duty it is to adjust the weights 

 carried by the competing animals. 



The reason why such practices are resorted 

 to is not because the stake which can be won 

 is a valuable one, as the total amount of the 

 Cesarewitch Stakes seldom reaches ^2,000, but 

 because the race in question affords a medium 

 of wagering on such a gigantic scale that horses 

 entered for the contest may, with caution, be 

 backed to win even as much as ^100,000. 

 There are one or two instances of such a sum 

 having been obtained by means of the Cesare- 

 witch, notably when Roseberry won the race. 

 For the owner of a Cesarewitch to bag from 

 ^20,000 to ;^50,ooo was, some twelve or fifteen 

 years since, a matter of common occurrence. It 

 is a race which the general public bet upon with 

 avidity, and for betting upon it great facilities 

 are afforded, seeing that speculation begins on 

 the Cesarewitch as early as May or June, when 

 it cannot possibly be known what horses will be 

 entered for it. 



Remarkable stories have occasionally been 

 told of fortunes won by means of the Cesare- 

 witch ; big prices being obtainable at an early date, 

 persons who know of a *' good thing " for this 

 race are able to back it to win a considerable sum 

 at little risk. Mr. Parr, the owner of Weather- 

 gage, who won in 1852, sacked many thousands, 

 it is said, by the victory of his horse. That 

 animal proved a fortunate purchase to Mr. Parr. 

 Bought out of a Newmarket stable for a com- 

 paratively trifling sum, and having been well 

 tried with a horse called Clothworker, he was 

 entered for the Goodwood Stakes. The trial 



