Jockeys, 127 



his trainer always wants to shift the blame from him- 

 self or his horse ; or a gobemoiiche friend who has 

 dropped his money, comes with some sage idea 

 gathered from his lorgnettes, to the effect that the 

 horse was brought too soon, we see owners who are 

 said to be models of chivalry in other matters, taking 

 their regular jockeys off in the middle of a season, 

 without a word of explanation. The well-being of 

 racing mainly depends on keeping our jockeys above 

 reproach, and it is difficult for many to hold them- 

 selves so if an owner is ready to degrade them at any 

 moment, when he acknowledges the propriety of their 

 conduct in every other way, but only differs with them 

 as to whether a little more could have been made of 

 his horse. Those whose memories can range upwards 

 of a score of years back, will remember how two con- 

 federates, one of whom had reasons to wish for a pace, 

 and the other had not, gave their leading jockey in a 

 handicap exactly opposite orders. He naturally 

 obeyed the one who spoke to him last, concluding that 

 the orders were joint ; and the other, who considered 

 himself slighted, not only trampled down every attempt 

 at explanation, iDut induced his first master to discharge 

 him. The confederacy ended, but the jockey looked 

 up no more. Sporting newspapers were few in those 

 days, and there was no great body of racehorse 

 owners for them to appeal to against so deep a wrong. 

 The thing, however, was done openly enough ; and 

 except in its consequences, it was preferable to the 

 present mode of engaging another jockey, and tortur- 

 ing the old one by slow degrees into sending in his 

 jacket, by giving him the mere dregs of the mounts. 

 A little kind feeling on this head would be worth a 

 host of Turf Reform propositions on others. It is no 

 answer to say that jockeys are private servants. They 

 may be, in one sense ; but still they are virtually 

 subject to an oral and sadly lopsided code of Jockey 

 Club rules, two of which are to the effect, if we re 



