340 A MIRROR OF THE TURF. 



unlucky as to fall asleep, he was at once brought 

 to a sense of his iniquity by a touch or two from 

 a long whip, which his master kept beside him 

 ready for use. 



Discipline must be observed in a racing stable, 

 but, as a rule, the lads are humanely treated, 

 corporal punishment not being resorted to now, 

 as it used to be in the days of old. As an illus- 

 tration of jockey life half a century ago, it may 

 be mentioned that a Yorkshire trainer, named 

 Smith, was invariably severe with his lads, but 

 " was cruel only to be kind." When adminis- 

 tering a round of the cane, he used to utter a 

 kind of apology. His usual homily to his victim 

 was : " Thou'lt come to me in ten years' time, 

 my lad, and thank me on thy knees for saving 

 thee from the gallows." The race of old physical 

 force trainers is nearly extinct, and their suc- 

 cessors of to-day are generally well-educated men, 

 learned in the character and structure of the 

 animal they train. At many of the racing stables 

 the wives of the trainers take a warm interest in 

 the morals of the boys, and look after them with 

 motherly regard. On some training grounds no 

 work is done on Sundays, on that day the horses 

 are merely exercised. 



In course of time, one of the many lads 

 engaged in the stables shows himself to be of 

 the stuff of which successful jockeys are made, 

 and that being so, makes his way to the front, 

 and after a few trials finds himself elevated to the 

 proud position of premier horseman, with every 

 prospect, if he be careful of his earnings, of 

 making, in the course of a few years, a splendid 

 fortune. But he must " keep his head " and not 



