Taking now a leap to the reign of "bluff King Hal," the belief that horse-racing, as a pastime, had by that time taken root, and was gradually deepening its hold on the affections of the English people, can hardly be resisted. In a document relating to the Royal household, mention is made of His Majesty's horses as follows: "Coursers, young horses, hunting geldings, hobies, Barbary horses, stallions, geldings, mail bottles, pack, Berage Robe, and stalking horses." In this list is comprised the elements of the modern stud.
During the reign of Henry VIII. various enactments were made with a view to improving the breed of horses. To make sure that the country should possess horses of commanding strength and size, the proportions of both sires and dams were regulated by an Act, one of the provisions of which was that no person should put in on forest, chace, moor, or heath, any stoned horse above the age of two years not being fifteen hands high, nor under fourteen hands, on pain of forfeiting the same. This Act, which discriminated the sizes in different counties, was undoubtedly judicious in its results, which ultimately proved beneficial to the general breed of horses throughout the kingdom. Some curious regulations, devised by the King were from time to time made public. He obliged all men of a given position, especially clergymen, to keep a certain number of horses. Thus Archbishops and Dukes, were enjoined in this reign to keep seven trotting stone horses of fourteen hands in height for the saddle. Clergymen also who possessed a benefice of £600 per annum, or laymen, whose wives wore French hoods, or velvet bonnets, were ordered to keep one trotting stone horse, under a penalty of twenty pounds.
In the time of Queen Elizabeth, public racing was not much in vogue; still, in the days of "good Queen Bess," the race-horse continued to be prized. Her successor on the throne, James I., was remarkable for his attention to horse-breeding. He ordered £500 to be paid to Mr. Markham for an Arabian, the first animal of that breed seen in England, while in the time of the same king, races were run in many parts of England for silver bells, notably at Gatherly, in Yorkshire, Chester, Croydon, and some other localities. At this period the condition of the competing horses began to attract attention, their wants being methodically attended to, the weights to be carried adjusted, their exercise gallops and sweats being also properly defined. The repute of English race-horses during the reign of the first James became so great that they attracted attention in France, to which country several were exported, the methods of keeping and training them which then prevailed here being adopted by the French.
In the year 1640, in the days of Charles I., the first Newmarket meetings were inaugurated, and, as will by-and-by be shown, horse-racing has been a feature of that famous town ever since. An account is given in another chapter of the rise of horse-racing in different localities, in which the further progress of the sport in its earlier days will be alluded to.
Many apropos squibs and satires were published during this and the succeeding reign of Charles II. One of these is entitled "Newmarket," and it shows that the town had at that date become celebrated as the chief seat of horse-racing:
Let cullies that look at a race,
Go venture at hazard to win;
Or he that is bubbl'd at dice,
Recover at Cocking again.
Let jades that are foundered be bought;
Let jockies play crimp to make sport,
Another makes racing a trade,
And dreams of his projects to come,
And many a crimp match has made,
By bubbling[2] another man's groom.
Oliver Cromwell kept a racing stud, and was noted somewhat for his patronage of the turf, no doubt with the view of personally studying how best to improve the breed of English horses. Cromwell's master of the horse was Mr. Place, who was the means of bringing to England a celebrated horse known as the White Turk. Charles II. did more for the improvement of the race-horse than any of his predecessors, he may be said, in fact, to have "made it." During his reign horse-racing took a really firm hold of the affections of the English people—a hold never since relaxed and that is now firmer than ever.
It has taken long to bring the English race-horse to that perfection indicated by the paying of two or three and even four thousand guineas for a yearling, and ten thousand pounds for a three-year-old on the mere chance of its winning a Derby, Oaks, or St. Leger, or a big handicap; not to mention the giving of equally large sums for stud horses, many of which have realised during the last ten or twelve years what at one time would have been deemed fabulous prices. That attention was turned to horse-breeding at an early period, seems pretty certain; men, indeed, had begun to study "the niceties of the business" more than three hundred years ago, their studies having resulted in the lines of superb coursers now on the turf.
Briefly stated, the growth of the British race-horse has been pretty much as follows. When Britain was invaded by the Romans, Cæsar found plenty of horses, such as they were, in the country. As all know, the horse is, and has ever been, widely diffused; great dubiety, however, exists as to its origin or native land; its remains have been found in the most unlikely spots, and some naturalists suggest Arabia as the native region of the animal; but no distinct proof of its being so has been brought forward, nor in ancient history is there any mention of Arabia as being distinguished for its horses. No matter to what country we are indebted for this useful animal, it is now found in nearly every part of the world.