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to the inferior animal. Worse it is that there seems to be no other 

 means of bringing the good, bad,_and indiflferent together so as to give 

 each an equal chance of winning. If we could but thrash the bad and 

 middle class into running up with the good ones, all would be well, 

 but we can't, at least the operation generally proves abortive. 



I think, however, our racing executives might at times lessen the 

 injustice by having races restricted to horses of the same class only — 

 that is to say, of first, second, and third class form, those of each lot 

 being brought together by handicapping. Weight will, of course, bring 

 the best back to the worst ; but what we should like to do is to raise 

 the worst to the level of the best. Alas ! that can't be done, so we 

 must penalise the good horses, which, to my mind at all events, is a 

 paradoxical mode of proceeding, and subversive of justice. 



A most iniquitous rule was in force up to even a very few years 

 ago. That of giving allowance to half-bred horses — in other words, 

 or rather by other means, penalising by inverse ratio our thorough- 

 breds, penalising the very object we want to attain as soon as we 

 have attained it ! I wrote a very strong letter some seven or eight 

 years ago against this allowance to half-breds, and although I am sure 

 my letter had no influence upon our racing powers, I am glad to say 

 there is now no rule of such a stultifying nature. 



King's and Queen's Plates are a very ancient institution. They 

 are given annually by the Government to be run for in long-distance 

 races by three-year-olds and over. 



Now the object of these plates is a most laudable one, and what I 

 aimed at when formulating my code of rules at the beginning of this 

 chapter; i.e., to encourage men to breed horses with stamina and 

 staying powers. It is quite clear that object has not, by one cause or 

 another, been attained, and Queen's Plates, with their hundred guineas 

 and two to four mile courses, are no more productive of their object 

 than are five-furlong sprints, and very few horses start for them. 



What burlesques some of them are ! I have seen horses start in a 

 walk, then jog or canter till within a mile or mile and a half of home, 

 and then only begin to race, just reducing the distance to whatever the 

 jockeys chose to make it. 



My idea is that these Queen's Plates should be raised to £200, with 

 a free entry, that they should be three miles distance, and for four- 

 year-olds only, 9st. each ; that, in the case of Ireland, there should be 

 three plates given annually to each of the four provinces. Let these 

 be restricted to horses bred in their respective province. Have 

 the first run for as early in the year as possible, and over the most 

 suitable course in the province. Let the winner of the first be ex- 

 cluded from the second race. Have the second plate run in two or 

 three months after the first. Then, as soon after as convenient, start 

 the two winners against each other. By that time we should have 

 four out-and-out winners from the four Irish provinces. They would 

 have won £400 each, while those which ran in the ties would have 



