THE APPRENTICE QUESTION 



home, he must have practice on a course to bring 

 him on. 



• 



The whole apprentice system is absolutely and 

 entirely wrong— according to the views I have held 

 for many years past. Apprentices should not be 

 allowed to ride in regular jockeys' races until they 

 have graduated and become qualified— in the opinion 

 of others— to be trusted with the care of a horse 

 in a serious race. Some of them never would for 

 years, while others after a year or more experience 

 would be promoted from the ranks. This apprentice 

 question is one of the most important in racing, and, 

 writing as I do in the early spring of 1915, I can say 

 that there was never a better opportunity for the 

 Jockey Club to make experiments by the passing of 

 rules which could be only temporary, or "try-out," if 

 thought fit. It is one of the firmest convictions of 

 my life and I would put it in my dying Will and Testa- 

 ment—if anyone would heed me— that the curses of 

 racing nowadays are : first, the 5 lb. allowance ; and 

 next, the fact that ordinary apprentices are allowed 

 to spoil many races by riding with tried and proved 

 jockeys. When alluding to the Starting Gate there 

 will be more to say on this score. 



With the greatest respect for the English Jockey 

 Club it might be suggested that the whole system of 

 apprentices' privileges should be revised. Apprentices 

 should only be allowed to ride in races put in the card 

 for them. There might be a special committee of, say, 

 three to notice how they behave and what form they 

 show in a race. Every part of the exhibition should 

 be noted : whether they keep their line, how much 

 use they make of a horse and what they do with their 

 whip. Good marks should be given just as in a school 



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