150 WAYFARING NOTIONS 



Lots do not even know the name of the hills 

 where the race stand and courses are. It is the 

 fashion, or was so, to talk of Banstead Downs as 

 the place where the Derby is run, which is wrong. 

 Some of the track goes over what must be 

 Walton Downs, but barring that you have 

 Epsom's. What a row there was about the odd 

 bit ! What a fearful overpowering rush and gush 

 of condemnatory criticism launched at the head 

 of Mr '' Salamander " Studd, who, becoming 

 possessed of the lord of the manorship of Walton, 

 presumed to ask for a financial corner out of the 

 racing's profits, claiming such as his due because 

 some of it — the Derby and Oaks particularly — 

 was carried on over a corner of what was his land, 

 for purposes of the argument ! If he had set fire 

 to the Jockey Club building at Newmarket, blown 

 up Epsom's grand stand and looted the cellars, 

 also arsoned Messrs Weatherby's offices and 

 their printing place, records, unpublished entries, 

 handicaps and all, and started ploughing up 

 Ascot, Goodwood, York, and Doncaster, the late 

 owner of Salamander and father of the long 

 family of Eton cricketers could not have been 

 dropped on more severely. So far as the sport- 

 ing papers went, and writers on racing in other 

 publications, the gentleman, whose action would 

 now be approved and taken as a matter of course, 

 was treated as a sort of Ishmael and bandit com- 

 bined. No one seemed to think that if this 

 money required had to be paid, the consideration 

 was worth the fee. As for sympathising with the 

 Manor of Walton and its representatives, who for 

 so many years had been giving something for 

 nothing — a form of barter which the Grand Stand 

 Association could never be accused by its worst 



