10 
THE HORSE, 
THE RACE-HORSE. 
the jockey, which is conceived to distress the horse less than a stationary load. The jockey, with his appurtenances, is weighed 
before he starts, and again on coming in he must proceed mounted to the place of weighing. If he dismounts before, or wants 
weight, he is held to have been distanced, unless he has been disabled by an accident, in which case he may be led or carried to 
the scales. 
The balancing of the horses’ powers by their weights being a necessary element in the race and in the calculations of success, 
it is important to the person who bets to have a good knowledge of the characters of the horses, of their age, and of their powers, 
as shown by their running. But, besides the public manifestation of the horses’ powers on the course, it is not unfrequent to make 
private trials of the horses which are to run, which enables their owners to speculate more securely on the ultimate result. It is 
not deemed expedient to prevent this system, but an endeavour is made to lessen as far as possible the hurtful effects which may 
result from it. One evil, scarcely to be guarded against, is the circulation of false reports of the trials, whereby horses which it is 
known beforehand will lose are rendered favourites for the great stakes. This has taken place in many cases to the deception of the 
public, and the injury of those to whom the reports were communicated. The watching of trials is strictly prohibited, at least by 
the Newmarket regulations; but watching notwithstanding takes place, and the result is communicated with the speed of a telegraph 
to the different clubs, and those who have the means to pay for the intelligence. But in this game of trick the watcher and his cor¬ 
respondents are often cheated in their turn. The training-grooms may make a horse win or lose as suits the purpose to be served; 
nay, the jockeys who ride may be as ignorant of the result as the horses themselves. The one jockey, we will suppose, has gained 
the race by a single length, or by half a dozen of lengths; but he knows not the load of shot that has been privately stuffed into his 
rival’s saddle; and the latter, good man, is equally ignorant of the leaden spell that has been laid upon the powers of his horse. But 
the story which of all others has been the most frequently told upon this subject, and which best deserves to be repeated, relates to 
a famous match in the reign of George I. A horse, Merlin, was to run against another, the property of the well-known Tregon- 
WELL Frampton, then styled the Father of the Turf. The match excited intense interest among the sportsmen of the north in 
favour of Merlin, and among those of the south in favour of his rival. The horses had been for some time in training at Newmarket, 
when Frampton’ s groom, with the knowledge of his master, endeavoured to induce the groom of Merlin to have a private trial 
with the weights and for the distances agreed upon, which* he asserted could not fail to make both their fortunes. The groom in 
charge of Merlin had the honesty to communicate the proposal to Sir William Strickland, who took the charge of the match 
foi Meilin. The Baronet coolly desired the groom to accept the offer, but at the same time privately instructed him to put 7 lb. 
more of weight into his saddle than were to be used at the match. Frampton had previously given the very same orders to his 
groom, and the two horses started on their trial, each loaded with 7 lb. beyond the weight which he was to carry. In the trial 
Merlin beat his antagonist by a length. This being duly communicated by the grooms to their respective masters, each became 
certain of success. If my horse, argues the Baronet, can beat the other with 7 lb. extra weight, he is sure to win the race; if 
mine, says Frampton, can come in within a length, loaded with his extra 7 lb., his success in the race is certain. The patriarch 
communicated the momentous secret to his friends, and enormous bets were offered and accepted on the result. At length the 
important hour arrived, and the betting was beyond all former example. The south country gentlemen, confident in the stratagem 
of theii chief, declared that they would bet their gold while they had it, and then their land : the north country squires, equally 
assured of the success of their plot, took the bets to any amount. The horses started, the jockeys did their duty, and, just as was 
to be expected, the race was gained by Merlin by the same distance as in the secret trial. The confusion was immense; the secret 
came out; and the wily Father of the Turf found, as many are said to have since done, that his opponent was too far north for him. 
Numbers of gentlemen were ruined by this event; and soon afterwards a law was passed for preventing the recovery of gaming debts 
beyond the amount of L.10 Sterling,—a foolish law, seeking in vain to counteract the natural feelings of gentlemen, by relieving 
them of the obligation to pay their debts. Frampton, the party implicated in this affair, deserves notice. He was born in 
the reign of Charles II., and had been keeper of the Running horses at Newmarket to King William III., Queen Anne, and 
George I., as he continued to be to George II., in whose reign he died, at the age of eighty-six. He was a man of birth and 
fortune, esteemed by his private friends; but he had the misfortune to be regarded by the world as the greatest rogue of his age. 
One act of his is recorded, so full of meanness, avarice, and cruelty, as to be incredible. We will not repeat it, because we say 
that the evidence which has been produced in support of it is not worth a straw; because the victim of the tale has lain a hundred 
years and more in his grave without a tongue to defend him; and because, accordingly, every man who values for himself a good 
name after death is bound to pronounce a verdict of “ not guilty” in favour of the unhappy Frampton. 
The means of judging of the success of rival horses on the turf unfortunately do not depend upon events which may be the 
subject of reasonable calculation, but on mere contingencies. A horse may be run to lose as well as to win, and other circum¬ 
stances may affect the result, having as little relation to the powers and merits of the horses as events in the moon. But, before 
