Royal Ascot ^ 



the Liverpool Summer Cup in 1828 ; the Northumberland 

 Plate in 1833 ; the Manchester Cup in 1834 ; the Cesarewitch 

 and Cambridgeshire Handicaps, at Newmarket, in 1839 ; 

 the Stewards' and Chesterfield Cups, at Goodwood, in 1840; 

 the Great Ebor Handicap, at York, in 1843 >' ^h^ City and 

 Suburban Handicap, at Epsom, in 1851 ; and the Lincoln 

 Handicap in 1853. With the exception of the Two 

 Thousand and One Thousand Guineas run lor in the spring 

 at Newmarket, which may be considered as junior Derby 

 and Oaks, or at any rate pubHc trials for those events, all 

 these races are handicaps. 



Such then is the briefest outline of the history of horse 

 racing in England. In the twelfth century Fitz-Stephen 

 tells us the nobles, barons, knights, and citizens of London 

 assembled on Smoothfield to see the running horses. He 

 writes : — 



" When a race was to be run by valuable chargers 

 and perhaps by others which in like manner according to 

 their breed are strong for carriage and vigorous for the 

 course, the people raise a shout and order the common 

 horses to be withdrawn to another part of the field. The 

 jockeys who are boys expert in the management of horses, 

 which they regulate by means of curb bridles, sometimes by 

 threes and sometimes by twos as the match is made, prepare 

 themselves for the contest. Their chief aim is to prevent 

 a competitor from getting before them. The horses, too, 

 after their manner, are eager for the race ; their limbs 

 tremble, and, impatient of delay, they cannot stand still. 

 Upon the signal being given they stretch out their limbs, 

 hurry on the course, and are borne along with unremitting 

 speed. The jockeys meanwhile, inspired with thoughts ol 



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