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dreamt of fifteen or twenty years ago. A boy, out of neither his teens 

 nor his apprenticeship, and without education, may now earn, if he be 

 skilful in the saddle, a better income than a bishop, while some of the 

 leading jockeys get, in retainer and ordinary fees, more than is paid to 

 the Lord Chancellor of England ! Of a truth that of jockey is now 

 About the very best profession there is in the kingdom. What a pity it 

 is that some of those who follow it and jump suddenly into such 

 brilliant financial circumstances do not realise their position, and, through 

 jionest performance of their duties, retain it. No doubt, before long, 

 old prejudices will be overcome, and boys of good social position and 

 well educated will, instead of to college, be sent to our leading training 

 stables there to take their degree in riding. It is to be hoped these 

 young gentlemen will always go straight and never in " rings." 



Just as I am about sending the MS. of my book to the printers 

 I find in a sporting paper two returns from different sources which are 

 interesting, so I reproduce them. 



Messrs. Weatlierby in their annual volume of " Races Past " give table 

 showing the number of races of different distances in Great Britain and 

 Ireland in the undermentioned years, and is as follows : — 



The above statistics are in precisely the inverse ratio to what I 

 should wish to see them. 

 The next shows a return in every way conducive to my satisfaction : — 

 The latest racing statistics published show a distinct falling off in the 

 •value of the leviathan sweepstakes and a distinct increase in the financial 

 aggregates of the old-fashioned stakes raced for at the open meetings. True 

 it is that the Eclipse Stakes, won this year by Orme, maintains its position 

 as the richest race run in England ; and the Lancashire Plate, won by La 

 Fleche, is second ; but still the value of these races has a tendency to travel 

 .down hill. The Eclipse Stakes figures read as follows: — 1889, £11,165; 

 1891, £11,075; 1892, £9,405. Tliose for the Lancashire Plate show a still 

 greater drop. Thus in 1889 it was worth £9,000 ; in 1890, £9,091 ; in 1891, 

 £8,971 ; and in 1892, £7,930. I next turn to the Leicestershire Royal 

 Handicap, and what a terrible falling off is there. This race was unjustly 



