CHAPTER III. 



JOHN BAYNTON STARKKY, ESQ. 



The turf injured by foolish supporters — Unaccountable disappear- 

 ance of Mr. Starkey's fortune — Purchase of Veridas — Disastrous 

 defeat ; ' save us from our friends ' — Ownership of Fisherman 

 and Leamington — Aggregate winnings — No large loser by racing 

 or betting — Curious settlement of trainers' accounts — Propensity 

 to bet — First transaction with Mr. Padwick — How a debt of 

 £22,000 was created — Another deal and its result — Mr. Padwick 

 as owner of Spye Park — Bound to ruin himself — Other examples 

 and their lesson — Idiosj'ncrasies ; curious ' get-up j' mode of 

 travelling ; delight in 'attending a toilet' — Personal experience 

 of giving my name ; a ' tidy ' practitioner — His end, and sale 

 of Spye Park. 



In the previous chapter I have described the career of 

 one of the most successful men of his day upon the 

 turf. Now in turn, and by way of contrast, I may 

 give a brief outline of the life of one of the most un- 

 fortunate of those who have ever had to do with 

 racing. Yet in describing Mr. J. B. Starkey as unfor- 

 tunate, I must be careful to say that he was the origin 

 of all the trouble he brought upon himself. We have 

 been told that knowledge is nothing to him that is not 

 known by others to possess it : and that perpetual 



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