PREFACE. IX 



amusement or a profession, that Mr John Kent, 

 whose health has long been far from strong, 

 should not pass away without chronicling what he 

 knows about the noble master whom he served so 

 faithfully. 



Lord George's active connection with the Turf, 

 as a prominent actor thereupon, did not extend over 

 more than fifteen or sixteen years. There have, of 

 course, been many conspicuous patrons of horse- 

 racing who have, in "The Druid's" phrase, "found 

 pleasure in listening to the whistle of a racing- 

 jacket " for a far longer period than Lord George 

 was permitted to do. I believe, however, that 

 between 1830 and 1846 Lord George did more to 

 improve, and in some senses to revolutionise, the 

 Turf, than all the other members of the Jockey 

 Club who have lived during the present century. 

 The following chapters will explain my meaning to 

 those who know no more of Lord George Bentinck 

 than that he passed away before their time, and to 

 others — many of whom exist — who have not even 

 heard his name. In preparing Mr Kent's notes for 

 publication, I have been surprised to find how com- 

 pletely the lapse of forty-four years, which have 

 intervened since Lord George's death, have oblit- 

 erated all recollection of the most masterful and 

 powerful personality known to racing men since the 



