In 1781, the fashions of the Newmarket races had somewhat changed; sport began in April, with the Craven Stakes of 10 gs. each for two, three, four, five, six, and aged horses, from the ditch to the turn of the lands, each class of horse carrying the same weight. Racing took place on only two days, but in that space of time eleven races were decided. The First Spring Meeting followed on April 16th, lasting to the 21st, during which period some important contests took place for large stakes. The Second Spring Meeting of that year was held from May 7th, to May 12th, when no less than forty-three races were run and decided, most of them being matches. There was a meeting in July, beginning on the 10th, and continued on the 11th and 12th. Then came the First October Meeting, which lasted six days, and during which thirty-two races were run. The Second October Meeting commenced on the 15th, with "Fifty pounds, the winner to be sold for 150 gs. if demanded," twenty-two other races followed, and sport terminated on the 20th. At the Houghton Meeting, which began on October 29th, nineteen different events were decided, the greater number of them being matches; only four races, indeed, were run which were not matches.
At the present time (1891), seven meetings are still held at "head-quarters," they are as follows: Newmarket Craven, four days; First Spring Meeting, four days; Second Spring Meeting, three days; July Meeting, four days; Newmarket First October, four days; Newmarket Second October, five days; Houghton Meeting, from Monday till Friday.
During the last thirty-five years, Newmarket has greatly flourished, and is becoming every day of greater importance. At the time indicated above it was a poor place, many gentlemen declining to send their horses to be trained there, some of them would not believe its being possible to train a Derby winner on the heath. For several years, no winner of the Derby was trained at Newmarket. By 1860, however, fortune had begun to smile on the place, which may be said, with the advent of the Dawson family, to have commenced a career of prosperity which still goes on. Mr. Joseph Dawson came first with the horses of Lord Stamford; Mr. Mathew Dawson followed, and to that gentleman's care Lord Falmouth entrusted his horses; Mr. John Dawson likewise took up his quarters at Newmarket. Other trainers speedily blossomed into importance, and Newmarket horses began to make their mark on every racecourse in the kingdom, so that the town speedily became important as a great training centre, the best training talent of the kingdom indeed became centred at head-quarters, and from 1863 to the present year the town has flourished exceedingly. Land has of late become so valuable that it is difficult to procure a site for a house or a stable under an impossible price. The numerous persons engaged in the training stables create a large amount of remunerative business to the tradespeople, whilst the building operations of the last twenty years have given employment to a regiment of mechanics and labourers.
It is affirmed that the business of horse-racing is seen at its best at Newmarket; but such a statement may be taken for what it is worth, as the arrangements made at the gate money meetings are remarkably perfect. It is quite on the cards that the racing tracks at Newmarket will speedily be so enclosed that no outsider will be able to witness the sport, various movements in that direction having already taken place.
OTHER SEATS OF HORSE-RACING.
I.
Racing of some kind, good or bad as may happen, is carried on, not only at Newmarket, but at many other places all the year round. When flat-racing ceases, steeple-chasing follows, and proceeds till what is called "the legitimate season" begins; it occupies the period from about the end of March till the close of November. Hardened turfites, that is men who make racing and betting the business of their lives, long, it is said, in the early part of the year to hear the saddling-bell sound at Lincoln where the first meeting is held; and from that much-talked-of seat of sport they journey to Liverpool, and thence to Northampton and other seats of horse-racing, pursuing their business most industriously, shouting the state of the odds with stentorian lungs and booking no end of bets, for wherever half-a-dozen bookmakers assemble, there will also be found an army of bettors eager to take "the odds," some of them with "systems" by which they hope to make their fortunes; others, too, are there, who trust to luck, or the bringing off of an occasional good thing by means of a tip, which they may receive from some acquaintance or friend, or they put faith, perhaps, in the two horse or other wires of some brazen charlatan of the tipster tribe, of whom for the time they become victims.
The Lincolnshire Handicap is the principal betting race of the springtime; many horses are usually selected by bettors to win that event, and one or two of the number will be heavily backed by men, who, in the end, may see all their cherished mind's eye visions vanish into thin air, as some quite unthought of outsider romps home an easy winner. The meeting held at Lincoln occupies three days, and before it concludes, some of the green hands, who have come on the racing scene as débutants, determined to give the ring a fright by backing many winners, will have made the old, old discovery over again that "all is not gold that glitters." New-made owners of horses, too, will have found out before the expiry of the three days, that men quite as clever as themselves are ready to fight every inch of the ground. "Keep thy head cool, lad," said, on one occasion, an old turfite to an irate young owner, who felt annoyed, or rather aggrieved, at his horse being placed second in a race which he fancied it had won, "you will get other chances for your horse; the season is but young, hide your feelings, you won't do much good at racing if you wear your heart on your sleeve."