2 THE TRAINING STABLES. 
preparation, matters which cannot be dismissed without an 
attempt, at least, to handle them exhaustively. As horses 
have to be bought as well as trained, a few hints on 
purchasing will here fitly find a place. 
Trials will appropriately come next, and will occupy a 
good deal of our attention. The subject is a technical one 
little understood, and will warrant, it is hoped, the space 
devoted to it. Then with some notice of the jockeys of 
to-day, old and young, heavy and light, and the anxious 
moments they frequently occasion to the trainer, we shall 
come to the duties imposed upon owner and trainer alike 
when the racehorse is brought to the post fit to run. In 
connection with this portion of the subject some observations 
will be offered on the weights for old and young horses and 
the different courses. 
Some notice of the difficulties, it may be almost said 
hardships, which at every step beset the trainer cannot be 
omitted, however personal the matter may appear, from a 
work that attempts to be comprehensive. Few can imagine 
how great and varied these difficulties are, or the important 
bearing they have upon racing results. 
A short review of the turf of to-day and of past times, 
and a few suggestions obviously arising in the treatment 
of our subject, will, as has been said, form what it is hoped 
may be found an appropriate conclusion. 
This design will, it is believed, give scope for the intro- 
duction of many matters of genuine interest to the lover 
of the racehorse. Under their respective headings, the 
following subjects will find a place: Casualties and 
sickness chiefly traceable to deficient stable arrange- 
ments; their causes, symptoms, and remedies. The 
breaking of the yearling; its training and trials. The 
