A Mirror of the Turf; Or, The Machinery of Horse-Racing Revealed, Showing the Sport of Kings as It Is To-Day

by James Glass Bertram

It is not so easy as it may appear to compile an exact history of any racecourse. As regards Ascot, one writer tells us that the racecourse, or, as he calls it, the "Manor of Ascot," is private property, whilst another authority distinctly states that it is "the property of the Crown," and that, in consequence, no rent is exacted for the racecourse. Fees of all kinds, however, are taken in the various enclosures, and, as a matter of course, admission to the grand stand and paddock has to be paid for as at other meetings; but as much of the money taken is given to be raced for, the charges may be tolerated. The accommodation now provided for the public at Ascot is something like what it should be; although it still might be improved, it is wonderfully good when compared with what it was half a century since.

The first stand erected at Ascot for the accommodation of the public was built by, or at the cost of, a Mr. Slingsby, one of the Royal tradesmen of the period, a master bricklayer, who was a favourite with His Majesty "King George III. of blessed memory." This stand, which was a substantial structure, capable of affording a view of the races to about 650 persons, was in use till about the year 1840. Two or three years before that date, a movement for the erection of a larger and more convenient structure took place, and resulted in the formation of a company with a capital of £10,000, subscribed in hundred-pound shares. The money, after considerable difficulty, having been found, the chief corner-stone of the building was laid in its place by the Earl of Errol, on the 16th of January, 1839, and the occasion of the opening of the stand was signalised by the presence of Her Majesty, who sent for the jockey who rode the winner of the Ascot Stakes, a boy of the name of Bell, and after complimenting him on his skill and judgment as a rider, kindly presented him with a ten-pound note. The excellent riding of this tiny jockey excited an immense amount of admiration, the boy being almost a mere child, and only weighing fifty-six lbs. When before the Queen, upon being asked his weight by Her Majesty, he replied, much to the amusement of the Royal suite: "Please, ma'am, master says as how I must never tell my weight."

The constitution of the new stand company provided for the application of the profits realised in the following fashion: To begin with a dividend of five per cent. to be paid to the shareholders, but curiously enough, according to the constitution of the company, this dividend fell to be paid before the wages of the stand servants! When the dividend, the check-takers and other servants had been paid, a sum of £500 was then to be allotted for the redemption of five of the shares, selected by ballot out of the total number. Of the money which might be left after that had been done, two-thirds was ordained to be applied to the enrichment of the race fund, and one-third to be divided among the shares, by way of a bonus, so that, in the course of twenty years, the stand would become altogether the property of the racing fund. This, as it may be called, Tontine plan of dealing with the shares of the Ascot Grand Stand proved, in a sense, a little gold mine for the shareholders who were so fortunate as not to be balloted out of the concern, which, from the first, was exceedingly remunerative.

In the very first year, the substantial benefit accrued of £700, whilst a bonus of eight and a half per cent. was paid to the shareholders. As in each year the number of participating shares became reduced, the dividend, of course, was correspondingly increased in amount, the final dividend on the last five shares having been the handsome one of £175. It should be stated here, that whilst all the profits of the stand and paddock were absorbed by the company for division in the mode which has been stated, the Master of the Buckhounds drew money from those "betting" on the course, for booths, also for stands for carriages. The sum taken in the first two or three years was moderate enough, but from £300 taken in the first year, it had increased in the third racing season to £1,500, and the money received from these sources of income is annually increasing. About £15,000 were expended a few years ago in improving and adding to the accommodation provided by the grand stand, every department of which is now regulated by the Master of the Buckhounds; and as the renewed lease obtained from the Crown has still over forty years to run, it is probable that additional improvements will be entered upon.

The Ascot Meeting is the next great event in the turf world to the Epsom Summer Carnival. How rich and varied the stakes are which are now run on the Royal heath, has been indicated. The various courses are in fine condition; and the attendance at the meeting, which lasts for four days, and with which no racing fixture is allowed to clash, is, in fine weather, enormous; and, although it appears to be impossible to eliminate the welshing element, Ascot is kept tolerably free as yet, notwithstanding its proximity to London, from the rowdy element.

During the lifetime of Prince Albert, Her Majesty frequently patronised the meeting, riding up the course with a numerous suite in what was called "Ascot State." The Prince and Princess of Wales now take Her Majesty's place in this ceremonial, and as they come upon the scene receive a most cordial welcome from the assembled thousands. The fashionable day par excellence is "the Cup day," a day on which the upper ten assemble on the Royal heath in their greatest numbers, "the ladies ablaze with dresses of gorgeous hues, tempered with trimmings of taste." This racing trophy—the Cup—which many owners of race-horses would rather win than any other race however richly it might be endowed, was founded, in 1771, by the Duke of Cumberland, the subscription being limited to 5 gs. each.

VI.

The rise and progress of the Goodwood Meeting may be briefly recorded. Like Ascot, it is one of the fashionable gatherings of the season. The Duke of Richmond and Gordon, on hospitable thoughts intent, opens wide the doors of his commodious mansion; but as he can only entertain a limited number of his own personal friends, the wonder is that the stands are so crowded with spectators. The distance of Goodwood Park from London is more than twice the distance of Ascot, and yet as many persons seem to frequent the one meeting as the other; hundreds are contributed from Brighton, Portsmouth, and other towns, and hundreds go from and return to London every day of the meeting. All the towns and villages in the vicinity of Goodwood Park are crowded by the strangers who have come to assist at the meeting, Chichester, in particular, being the abiding-place of a host of visitors. The houses and cottages round about fill with lodgers, and country seats are crowded with guests, all eager to take part in the brilliant scene which, in fine weather, is worth making a day's journey to see.

The annual meeting in the Duke of Richmond's park forms a fine theme for the pen of the descriptive reporter, and has been "gushed" over, in certain of the daily newspapers, in "a perfect paroxysm of word-painting phrases" during the last twenty years on each succeeding anniversary of the race. Nor is the work of the "Economist," who translated the silks and satins of the toilettes of "England's fairest daughters" into vulgar money's worth, to be ignored. His estimate that the dresses and "other belongings" of the four hundred and fifty most fashionable women, from their dainty morocco shoes and silken sandals, up to the wondrous head fabrics which crowned the high-born, delicate ladies seen at the two great fashionable meetings of the season, would cost at the least £200 for each person, is, perhaps, even too moderate; the total cost of the toilettes of that army of the fair would, perhaps, on the average of the Goodwood season, be full a £100,000. Was it not, for instance, recorded by the public press in a scandal case, that the Ascot and Goodwood trousseau of one fair but frail dame, of twelve dresses and the accordant "other things" of shoes, fans, gloves, lace and lingerie, had been charged £1,128? The "Economist's" argument is that horse-racing, despite its evils, must be tolerated for the good it does to trade, for the crowds it sends over the railways, for the gospel of eating, drinking, and dressing which it so eloquently preaches, all employing tradespeople, and, consequently, circulating money.