HORSES NOT TO BE AT THE DISPOSAL OF THE OWNER. 3 



have been used on your horse for their benefit, or at 

 least the chance of it, whether you choose it or not. 



In the above directions nothing like interested 

 motives in a pecuniary point of view was the influence : 

 but we will suppose a case where a man chooses to 

 consult what he considers his interest, and still where 

 the transaction is perfectly honourable and straight- 

 forward. I have a colt entered for the Derby: he 

 has run and won some good vStakes, and this has pro- 

 bably brought him up pretty high in the betting. 

 Some person, for reasons best known to himself, and 

 which I have no inducement to investigate, offers me, 

 say two thousand pounds for this colt, whom I may 

 consider from his previous running to be fairly worth 

 about one. I may think, like others, my chance of 

 winning the Derby to be very good : in short, my 

 horse is first or second favourite, but I may not be a 

 betting man, or disposed in any thing to go the 

 " whole hog ;" consequently prefer making a thousand 

 sure, by selling my colt, to standing the chance of 

 winning the Stakes, worth we will say three, but 

 attended w4th all the risk inseparable from such 

 events. It certainly appears hard I should not be 

 allowed to do this without calling forth the animad- 

 versions of the Turfmen — I should rather say the 

 betting men ; for such men as (we will say) Lord 

 Albemarle, Sir Gilbert Heathcote, and many others, 

 would not care one farthing whether I sold my horse 

 or kept him. They feel a very laudable emulation to 

 have the best horse in the race ; therefore are anxious 

 to win ; are gratified if they do ; and are to a certain 

 deo-ree mortified if their horses run badly. I allow 

 that to triumph when we win, or show temper when 

 we lose, is ungentlemanlike and ungenerous ; that 



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