ABOUT THE JOCKEY CLUB. 369 



pleased in any way he liked, without let or hin- 

 drance, and any one can still do so, and thus open 

 a wide door to fraud. To promote the interest of 

 bookmakers possessing a dishonest turn, half-a- 

 dozen Maskelynes might be entered for important 

 races. Such entries, no doubt, as in the case of 

 the horse named, may hitherto have been ac- 

 cidental ; but in future such entries might be 

 made all but impossible by being brought, by 

 order of the Club, under the cognisance of some 

 responsible official whose duty it should be to 

 oversee all entries and check the age and breeding 

 of the animals submitted for the various races. 



With regard to bets, it is notorious that in the 

 case of disputes a really logical decision on the 

 merits of a case can seldom be obtained. De- 

 cisions are often given on what may be called 

 a " sentimental " view of the subject ; it would not 

 be difficult to cull from the annals of Tattersall's 

 a string of judgments each of which would put 

 the other out of countenance. The committee to 

 whom is confided the giving of a decision in a 

 case of disputed betting is too big. A very small 

 tribunal, always composed of the same men, the 

 consistency of whose decisions could be watched 

 and discussed by those interested in the purity of 

 the turf, would act with such promptitude as would 

 enable " quorums " to be dispensed with — the 

 "quorum" system, indeed, might be advantageously 

 done away with. 



The unique position occupied by the Jockey 

 Club, which has been, so far, described for the 

 benefit of the uninitiated, is, of course, known to 

 all interested in the business of racing. The 

 Club, as lawgiver of the turf and as its own 



2 B 



