AROUND EPSOM AND LEATHERHEAD 157 



bushel or so of land, and thought we had stolen 

 the same ; ''lifted " we certainly had. 



Once upon a time I spent many hours reading 

 the Derby's conditions through from its initiation 

 to — well, I forget how far I carried the quest, 

 but I know I got jolly well tired of the job, and, 

 thanks to the dust off the old volumes of the 

 Racing Calendar consulted, I contracted an irrita- 

 tion of the nose forty times worse than any hay 

 fever. The Derby began as a biennial or triennial, 

 and has been chopped and changed about very 

 much over and over again. As to its course and 

 the distance, some of us about now can remember 

 two or three variations. Before my time the start 

 was out of sight from the present stand ; but 

 perhaps in view of the ancient betting ring, which, 

 so far as I can make out, was on the high ground 

 about where the mile races start now. The horses 

 came from a point behind the cottage marked 

 on ancient maps as Sir Gilbert Heathcote's, and 

 the track was a lot better than the present one, 

 because the hill to climb was less severe and the 

 field edged far more gradually to the bend, leaving 

 the Craven post well to the left. When most of 

 us first remember the Derby the starting-place 

 was a good bit nearer the stand than it is now, 

 and competitors were set a very stiff climb indeed 

 from the fall of the flag. The trouble with Mr 

 Studd, who, as Lord of the Manor of Walton, 

 had the temerity to want a share of the money 

 earned by racing over his territory, was, I believe, 

 responsible for some alteration — or was such only 

 schemed out for an alternative course ? But that 

 does not matter, I only wanted to show that when 

 one talks of a St Leger or Derby time, comparing 

 it with another, there may be penalties in differ- 



