The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1877-06-28
The Great Derby Day.

London Correspondent of the N. Y. Times
The first mention of horse-racing
in England occurs in the region of
Henry IL. Seven hundred years ago
the sport was on rough extemporane-
Gus scale. Matches were run In Hyde
Park as far back as 80 years ago. The
articles Of agreement are still pre-
served in the Public Records Office
relating to race on April 23d, 1865,
between horses belonging to James
Prettyman, of the county of Leicester,
and John Havers Of the same place.
The stakes were E2Oo, and the event
is especially memorable because it
signalized one of the few good things
done by Charles l., namely, the open
ing of Hyde Park to the publican
act of the Kings own free will. There
is IA tradition that the EPSON races,
which have now become the great
sporting event of the English racing
world, were started when James l.
lived at the palace of Nonsuch. In
Cromwelrs day horse-racing Mt Ep-
som was clearly regarded as an ordi-
nary occurrence, for in Clarendon's
History Of the Rebellion it il recorded
that ''soon after the meeting at Gull
ford, on the 18th of May, I64s, to ad-
dress the Houses of Parliament, that
the King, their only lawful sovereign.
might be restored to his due honors,
etc, q meeting of the Royalists was
held ut Baustead (Epsom) Downs un-
der the pretense of horse race and
600 horses were collected and marched
to Reigate. The gathering ended In
battle between the Parliamentary and
Royalist forces. During the minority
Of King James horse-racing was q
popular sport in Scotland, where be
imbibed his taste for the turf. The
exact date of the beginning Of the rae
ing at EPSON Is in doubt, but there IL
plain record of the annual meeting
from the year 1880.
With thousands of people the actual
race is a secondary consideration. II
is the Holiday which attracts at least
one-half of the crowd. call to my
mind picture by my friend Miss
Bowers. 1t is nm elderly cock sitting
smoking his pipe under the pleasant
shade Of tree on the Downs. a
friend has hurried up to him to warn
him that the horses are getting ready
to start. Don't bother me-" says the
contented smoker; ''you knows
'ates 'o-se-racing." And yet there Is
no sight more curiously Impressive
than the uptarning Of eager faces at
the close Of the race-a sea Of heads
turning one way. all the faces ming
ling In one vast splash of humanity.
have heard travelled Americans say
there is no more remarkable sight
than this in the world. The Italian
can understand the abandon of his
own carnivals, ther actors therein dis
guised or masked; but going home
sedate Of Englishmen will give them
selves up to the humorous extrava-
gances of the time with an unaccus-
toned zest. One would think Mr..
Bull had suddenly gone mad. Wear
ing dolls in their hats, pasteboard
proboscises on their noses, shooting
peas, singing songs, leering at women,
chatting coachmen, kissing their hands
to spectators who gather at villa win
dows Ola the road; you shall find
among these unmasked rollickers
scores of otherwise steady and re-
sponsible citizens. There is a time
for all things, saith the sacred philos-
ophcr. 1t would seem that Londonfs
time to eat, drink and be merry is on
the Derby Day.