loo THE BLUE RIBBON OF THE TURF. 



a, modification of the old praciices, can be seen by any- 

 one who takes the trouble to visit a training-ground. 



The writer of this volume makes no pretence of his 

 ability to teach his grandmother to suck eggs, but he 

 has no hesitation in saying, what indeed is an obvious 

 truth, that ' there are trainers and trainers.' This 

 truism was, on a late occasion, well exemplified in one 

 of the Newmarket hotels, Avhere a few trainers and 

 other racing men were congregated. One of the old 

 school was chaffing one of the new school, who is some- 

 what of a dandy, about his kid gloves and his fine 

 linen. 'I am just as able to train a race-horse in a 

 clean shirt as in a dirty one,' was the rather smart 

 retort of the dandy. 



Nowadays trainers figure in the society papers 

 among ' celebrities at home,' and why not ? They are 

 ■ — some of them — great in their vocation, and entrusted 

 with most important interests. There are trainers 

 of to-day who have charge of racing stock amount- 

 ing in value »to probably more than a hundred thou- 

 sand pounds ; not a few of the modern trainers have 

 each from two to twelve horses in their chars^e, each of 

 the value of from two to four thousand pounds. The 

 Falmouth sale, a year or two since, would no doubt 

 o])en the eyes of the non-racing public to the responsi- 

 bilities of trainers, and the onerous duties which 

 devolve upon them. One of these gentlemen, who had 

 a horse in his keeping which was first favourite for the 

 Derby a few years ago, told the writer that he was 

 nearly done to death during the twenty days which 

 preceded the race. Every day there came half a dozen 

 anonymous letters, some containing threats, others 



