i6 



of whose parents were bay or brown, begat, of chestnut 

 mares, bay or brown foals in 370 cases. On the other 

 hand, bay or brown sires one only of whose parents were 

 chestnut begat 355 bay or brown foals and 347 chestnut 

 foals, of chestnut mares. Chestnut sires put to chestnut 

 dams produced chestnut foals in over a thousand cases. 



The Derby has been won on thirty-three occasions by 

 a chestnut. Perhaps it may be convenient to give a list 

 of the names of the horses here : — 



No chestnut with four white legs has ever won the 

 Derby. The horse that makes the nearest approach to 

 this description was Blair Athol who had t^^•o white fetlocks 

 and a blaze. 



Glancing over the foregoing list, the point that will 

 suggest itself to the reader is that few of these Derby 

 winners are among those chestnuts which have made 

 a name at the stud ; Blair Athol, Doncaster, Bend Or and 

 Hermit single themselves out. Nevertheless, if we divide 

 the history of the race roughly into three periods of about 

 40 years each, we find that the number of chestnut winners 

 in feach period shows an increase on that preceding it : — 



From 1780 to 1820 there were 8 chestnut winners. 



,, 1821 ,, i860 ,, 12 ,, ,, 



„ 1861 ,, 1900 ,, 14 



