42 THE RACE- HORSE. 



never get, after incurring a great expense on the 

 mare. The price of a promising yearling, from 

 three to five hundred fyuineas, is a laro^e sum to 

 begin with ; and we cannot, in this instance, say 

 with Varro, " that a good horse is known from the 

 first."*' If purchased after he has appeared in pub- 

 lic, at two years old, of fashionable blood, and having 

 run in front, he is not to be purchased much under 

 a thousand guineas, which is a large sum to realise, 

 when added to concomitant expenses. Nothing but 

 the immense amount of stakes for young racing- 

 stock can justify such a speculation. For example, 

 in 1824, a filly of the Duke of Grafton's won four 

 thousand four hundred and fifty guineas, public 

 money, by only starting twice. 



One of the principal drawbacks from the pros- 

 pects of success in a racing establishment, is a com- 

 plaint called the Distemper, a sort of catarrhal 

 fever, the cause of which is generally attributed to 

 atmospheric influence, and also to any other which 

 may produce what is termed a cold. Unlike com- 

 mon catarrhs, however, the distemper will run 

 through a whole stud of horses ; and if it do not, 

 as it frequently does, end in an afi'ection of the 

 lungs, it leaves a lassitude behind it, which requires 

 some time to remove. As a hot sun, with cold 

 winds in spring, and the humid air of the autumn, 

 are the chief predisposing causes of this complaint, 

 an even temperature in the stable, and warm cloth- 

 ing when out of it, together with avoiding exposure 

 to extremes of heat and cold, are the best safeguards 

 against its attacks. It may be compared to a frost 



