348 THE SPORT OF KINGS 



course in every other fence of which there was 

 a flag, so that men would have to keep somewhat 

 together, and it would be easily detected when a 

 man went out of the course. More than either 

 once or twice have I seen men jump in four or 

 five fields from home, after " waiting on their 

 field," a la late Tom Oliver, behind a haystack, 

 and run second or third. I cannot say that I have 

 ever heard of the money being claimed under these 

 circumstances, and in one or two instances the 

 man who ran second under such circumstances 

 did not return to scale to weigh in. He got no 

 money directly, it is true, but he got what he 

 wanted ; that is, he got it published in the 

 papers that his horse was second in a good field, 

 in a few weeks the circumstances of how he got 

 second are forgotten, and his horse is considerably 

 enhanced in value by a fictitious performance of 

 which the owner does not fail to make good use. 

 There are plenty of other bits of sharp practice 

 done in point-to-point races, of which cognisance 

 should be taken, and which merit more or less 

 severe punishment. Why then should not the 

 Masters of Hounds Committee formulate a few 

 rules with the sanction of the National Hunt 

 Committee, since the latter body does not seem 

 inclined to take the initiative ? If this were done, 

 and fines and warnings off possible under their 

 rule, we should soon see point-to-point racing 

 occupy a very much better position in the sporting 

 world than it does at present. 



