49 
long be upheld in a free and_ sport-loving 
country ; and it is without surprise we find 
the Government, five years later, with- 
drawing from a position which must have 
made it excessively unpopular. The next 
law (18 Geo. IIL., c. 34, sec. xi.) opens with 
the announcement that, whereas the thirteen 
Royal Plates of too guineas value each, 
annually run for, as also the high prices 
that are continually given for horses of 
strength and size are sufficient to encourage 
breeders to raise their cattle (szc) to the 
utmost size and strength possible, ‘‘ There- 
fore it shall be lawful to run any match for 
a stake of not less than 450 value at any 
weights whatsoever and at any place or 
places whatsoever.” 
The effect of this “climbing down” 
measure was naturally to introduce lighter 
weights. Thus in 1754, to take an example 
that presents itself, Mr. Fenwick’s Match’em 
won the Ladies’ Plate of 126 guineas at 
York carrying nine stone, as a five-year- 
old; six-year-olds carrying 10 stone, four- 
mile heats; and in 1755 Match’em beat 
Trajan at Newmarket carrying 8 stone 7 lbs. 
Perhaps it is not too much to say that the 
Act of 1745 was the first step towards 
modern light-weight racing. It must be 
4 
