The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-10-12

any manly exercise except horse racing
lie then praises the quality OF the horses
and goes on to say of the people, Ihey
are such lovers Of riding that almost
every ordinary person keeps horse;
and I have known some to spend the
morning in ranging several miles in the
woods to find and catch their horses
only to ride two or three miles to
church to the courthouse or to horse
race,
This last clause is true and grauty-
ing tribute to our conservatism. Tor the
habit prevails 10 this day, and We are
nearly led to conclude from tho appear
ance Of our streets and drives on fine
afternoon that the ownership Of the AMI
NAL is as general now as when Mr.. Hugh
Jones gathered his facts
Mr. Stanard concludes, from his thor
ough research. that no horses were kept
for public racing purposes prior to lt5e.
The first notice of public racing in Viz
ginia appears in the Virginia Gazette for
1897. This is inferred. as there were none
in the issue of 1856. On July J, 1877, 1t
announced: I'VE hear there is to be
horse-racing every Saturday till October
at the Race Ground near this city"
0viiliamsburE).
PRIZES WERE MANY.
From this time on the records Of races
occur regularly. The prizes range from
pistols, SADDLES and brides to a Soup
Ladle of 45 shillings value. All sized
horses are TO carry 1o4 lbs, and Gallo
ways are to be allowed weight for inches.
There is an entrance of two shillings
and six pence ito be given to the horse
that comes In second The reporter al
lows himself this sentiment: Happy is
he that can get the highest Rider
Mr. Stanrad's otes are too full to be
more than. touched upon, for We now
come to the date when racing has become
one Of the features of society. and para
graphs of notices are side by side In the
columns Of the press with protests and
editorials that presage the Revolution.
The men who We're the owners of fine
stock and patrons OF the turf at that time
are the same whose names are coupled
with the patriotic reaction against OPP
preston by the mother coutry.
Again. to quote from Colonial Racing
in Virginia.: The political prospect mao
now become so dark that many persons
thought that racing should be discon-
tinucd.'' A correspondent of the Gazette
of date July 81. 1774, recommends that
1.-The Fredericksburg and Portsmouth
Jockey Clubs suspend their meetings dur
ing the present troubles and contribute
the purses to the people Of Boston then
hlockaded.
The descendants of the blooded colonial
stock did valiant service in the Revolu
tionary army, and there Is not shadow
of a doubt that scions Of that lordly race
left their bones on their native fields in
the great civil strife less than century
later.
FIRST SPORTING MAGAZINE.
1t was not until ten years after the
treaty OF peace which closed the Ameri-
can Revolution that a publication APP
peared In London. which was the pioneer
of the literature Of sporting. The first
Sporting Magazine or Monthly Calendar
Of the Transactions of the Turf, the
Chace and Every Other Diversion Inter
esttng to the Man Of Pleasure and En-
terpr1se.'' Its contents fully bear out
the promise Of the title. for so varied
an assortment of subjects requires
some ingenuity to associate with the
modern idea of sporting. It may be
noted mere that the title page In Ques-
ton is really a beautiful specimen Of
copperplate engravings. The quotations
and the comments that follow are based
upon the numbers for 1S02::
The frontispiece is an engraving In
stipple On copper of Mr.. Richard
knignr. late huntsman to Earl Spencer.
The editor in the opening article ex-
presses his disappointment at not being
able to give some account of this cele-
nrated huntsman In the present months
magazine, but promises 1t in that of the
next. He takes occasion, however. to
work In a Mandatory article on the Earl
as n patron of the sport, beginning,
Having mentioned Earl Spencer, we