PREFACE, vii 
suggests ;. and, lastly, to offer a few suggestions for reform 
of turf proceedings, which, in his humble opinion, would be 
of considerable benefit to this chief of our national sports. 
To treat the subject comprehensively is his desire. It will 
be found, therefore, that his suggestions are not confined to 
the technical and ordinary affairs of the every-day routine 
of a training-stable. He has endeavoured to the best of 
his ability to examine other matters which are certainly not 
inferior in interest. Thus, he attempts to show under what 
circumstances some horses vanquish or are vanquished in 
their public engagements. He has added, so far as memory 
serves him, many memorable sayings, and the accounts of 
notable doings of the most successful men and conspicuous 
characters on the turf; as well as of others who have left 
it for their long home, who, whilst here, were known for 
their parsimony or their extravagance, as makers or as 
spenders of fortunes, with other anecdotes which have 
occurred to him as having some public interest. 
This then, being the scope of the work, the author ventures 
to launch it before the world, leaving it as it stands with 
all its shortcomings and inadvertencies to the lenient con- 
sideration which may be asked for a book that has no 
other pretence than to advance the results of practical 
knowledge, and to supply what may be a possible need 
That all should have been said that may be said on the 
various matters discussed, is impossible. The writer must 
be content in the knowledge of having done the best in his 
power to lay before the public the results of the experience 
