Royal Ascot 



^- 



and also as carriage enclosures during the race week — 

 the money thus obtained to be handed over to the prize 

 fund. 



The enthusiasm raised at this gathering was contagious. 

 The proprietor of the Betting Stand gave a Plate of ^loo ; 

 the inhabitants of Windsor another ^loo ; the postmasters 

 of London and on the road, a Plate of /^So ; and the 

 Windsor Members ^50. His Majesty, too, added two 

 Plates of 100 guineas each to his usual ^200 Plate. All 

 these were new prizes, in addition to the prize fund, 

 which swelled from a meagre ^350 to over ^1000. 

 Much was also done under the exertions of the Master 

 of the Buckhounds, the Earl of Erroll, and his staunch 

 aide-de-camp, Mr. Hibburd, of Egham, the Clerk of the 

 Course, to improve the turf itself; holes were filled up, 

 rough places made smooth, unevenness levelled, the turf 

 relaid in many parts, new gallops laid out and old ones 

 remade ; in short, with the means at disposal, all that was 

 possible was done to bring back to Ascot the glory that 

 had temporarily departed. For the future of the course, 

 this spirit was an omen of success, but as far as the 1837 

 meeting was concerned, circumstances prevented full justice 

 being done to the increased attractions. Not only did the 

 stars in their courses fight against the undertaking, rain 

 and sunshine, heat and cold alternating, but a great 

 misfortune was impending, which, though it touched the 

 nation at large, must have affected with peculiar poignancy 

 those who had the welfare of Ascot at heart. The King, 

 to whose enthusiasm and patronage they owed so much, 

 had been taken seriously ill, and lay dying at the Castle 

 near by. 



74 



