THE POSITION OF THE TURF 3 



Thus, if the newspapers can be accepted as a criterion, 

 it is evident that racing has a greater hold on the masses 

 in the northern industrial districts than it has upon dwellers 

 in London and the South of England generally. I take 

 it that the supply of racing intelligence is regulated by 

 the demand, and thus, whereas most of the London evening 

 papers publish a bare return of the running with little or 

 no criticism and the programme of the following day, 

 many of the country evening journals give a fuller return, 

 lengthy criticism, and, as a general rule, a column or so 

 of racing paragraphs, many of them possibly admittedly 

 gleaned from London morning papers. 



Probably it is not generally known that a number of the 

 reports of racing come from the same source. By reports 

 I do not mean criticism or commentary, but merely the 

 descriptions of individual races. Such reports are written 

 for the sporting dailies individually, and for one weekly 

 paper, the Field, but the rank and file of morning and 

 evening papers procure their accounts of the actual running 

 from the Press agencies, who supply them wholesale, and 

 whose work is done entirely by experts. The two large 

 agencies who practically divide this work send a staff of 

 from four to eight representatives to each meeting, accord- 

 ing to its importance, and the work is divided so that each 

 man has his special duty. One man describes the running, 

 " reading " to the others a description of the race as it is 

 being run, his account being rapidly noted. Immediately 

 afterwards, especially if the race has been run on a straight 

 course or in a bad light, the jockeys who rode are consulted 

 as to "how they came," and then comes a comparison of 

 what was seen and what the jockeys said, in the Press- 

 room, whilst the account is being written by several hands, 

 and despatched for the evening papers. Others are at work 

 in the ring procuring the starting prices, and this work has 

 been for years past very thoroughly and conscientiously 

 done. The experts keep in close proximity to the big layers 

 from the time the numbers go up, and notice each fluctuation 

 in price until the flag falls. 



I have often thought that there is nothing better done in 



