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exception of the three meetings named, courses would be laid out a few 

 days beforehand, and nothing further done but put up the flags on 

 the morning of the races. In many places the courses were '" out and 

 home ;" z>., after going half the distance the horses were turned round 

 a post and raced back over the same line. 



As a means for keeping the fences between the flags clear for the 

 horses to jump, each had to be guarded by half a dozen men armed 

 with sticks, and as badges of authority they sported hatbands of 

 coloured calico. The run-home was protected only by ropes fastened 

 loosely to rickety posts, and although the stewards and hunt servants, 

 mounted and with long-lashed whips, strove manfully to keep it clear, 

 the spectators crowded the course, and only when the horses were upon 

 them divided, leaving a narrow lane to the winning post. 



Needless to say that, having to deal with a multitude of country folk, 

 some of whom at times were a bit unruly, and others more or less 

 under the influence of bad drink, keeping either the fences or the run- 

 home as clear as they should be was an impossibility. As soon as the 

 leading horses passed everyone closed in, unmindful of those behind, 

 which had either to charge the crowd or be pulled up. I saw many 

 a man ridden over, nearly all were hurt, while some were killed out- 

 right. Collisions between the racing horses and those ridden by the 

 stewards and servants, causing terrible disasters, were also of fre- 

 quent occurrence. 



Previous to the seventies the get-up of our gentlemen-riders could not 

 well be called smart. Hiding between flags was so little their custom 

 they did not consider racing boots and breeches necessary adjuncts to 

 their wardrobes, so when they donned the silk, those used for hunting, 

 topped with the velvet cap, constituted their rig-out. We all 

 hunted in caps in those days, and when requisitioned for a race they 

 were sometimes covered by a lady of the family with red, white, or 

 blue silk, and sometimes the whole tricolour. This rig certainly looked 

 very "chalk," and widely different from the Newmarket cut of our pre- 

 sent Corinthian jockeys. In farmers' races it was 6 to 4 on "green jacket 

 and black cap," being the colours of the riders. Now green is the excep- 

 tion, and the jockeys in these races are equipped very much smarter 

 than they used to be. 



In those days we dressed going to races in our worst clothes. The 

 only man who went in Ascot style was the late Captain Billy Quin, and 

 we used to laugh at him ! It was not until the ladies patronised racing 

 that we donned broadcloth and " toppers." 



Somehow in olden times we made races an occasion for festivity, and 

 the licence very often exceeded proper limits. No doubt it was because 

 we had so few meetings, for nowadays, when racing can be had every 

 week in the year, and often every day in the week, no one ever thinks 

 of indulging in the " pleasures of the table" more on those occasions 

 than any other. The Race Ordinary, invariably held at the best hotel 

 in the town, presided over by the leading steward, and patronised by 



