BIPEDS AND QUADRUPEDS. 57 



would be too glaring, and if he wins, what becomes 

 of the bets his owner has by his agents made against 

 him ? winning would gain him a few hundreds in 

 stakes, but lose a fortune in bets. He could not ask 

 such a man as Jem Robinson, or others of high 

 standing, to risk his character to lose on such an 

 occasion, nor is it so often as many persons suppose 

 that jockeys are the persons to whom blame is to be 

 attached when a race is lost. It is quite certain 

 that a race cannot, under ordinary circumstances, be 

 lost by a horse that is superior to the others he is to 

 run with ; to bring this about, the agency of trainer, 

 or jockey, or both, must be resorted to. If it is 

 known that the merits of two or three horses in the 

 race are very nearly balanced, the jockey can cer- 

 tainly lose it, if he pleases to do so, without injury 

 to his character with the public ; but it is not always 

 quite safe to trust to this, for something may occur 

 to make him alter his intention: if he does, ruin to the 

 owner is probably the consequence ; so, where losing is 

 to be the game, the surest thing is not to trust to the 

 Jockey's promise of making a scoundrel of himself. 



