38 CANADIAN TURF EECOLLECTIONS 



MILITARY RACE MEETING AT LAMBTON MILLS 

 IN THE SIXTIES. 



Many a gray-haired grandame of to-day remembers 

 with pleasure the olden times when they were belles of 

 society in Toronto and their most attentive cavaliers 

 were the officers quartered here. Wholesale flirts, those 

 military chaps, who went in for the sweets of life, and 

 were never so happy as when they had half a dozen 

 strings to their bow. Bank clerks took a back seat, pro- 

 fessional chaps, either in law or medicine, were consigned 

 to limbo, and the gay-coated and 'broidered gallants were 

 cock o' the walks. The majority of them were also fond 

 of sport, dearly loved a horse race and never let slip an 

 opportunity to try conclusions with the colonists. 



Around Toronto in those days were a good many men 

 who had a reverence for the thoroughbred, and they were 

 never backward in accepting a challenge to" try con- 

 clusions. At the time of which I write the Fourth Dra- 

 goon Guards were stationed at Niagara, and the Thirtieth 

 and Thirty-fourth Regiments of the line at Toronto. A 

 race meeting was advertised to come off at the Simcoe 

 'Chase Course, located just at the top of the steep hill 

 going down to the Howland Mills at Lambton. One of 

 the most important races of the meeting was a hurdle 

 race, of 150 sovereigns, gentleman riders, and this event 

 the Dragoons had expressed themselves confident of 

 capturing, they having entered two flyers then lately 

 arrived from England. The other nominations were 

 Shillelagh, owned by Mr. Beard, of this city, and ridden 

 by Captain Richard Denison ; Waverly, ridden by Mr. M. 

 Richards; St. Charles, on whom D'Arcy Boulton had the 

 mount, and Ploughboy (formerly Mingo), owned and 

 ridden by C. E. Romaine. The distance was two miles 

 and a quarter and the jumps, four to the mile, were built 



