A peep at the kind of racing then in vogue has been vouchsafed to us by the Duke of Tuscany. The races of May 9th, 1669, at which the King and the Duke of York were both present, are thus described in his Grace's "Journal of his Travels in England": "The racecourse is a tract of ground in the neighbourhood of Newmarket, which, extending to the distance of four miles over a spacious level meadow, covered with very short grass, is marked out by tall wooden posts painted white. The horses intended for this exercise, in order to render them more swift, are kept always girt, that their bellies may not drop, and thereby interfere with the agility of their movements. When the time of the races draw near, they feed them with the greatest care and very sparingly, giving them for the most part, in order to keep them in full vigour, beverages of soaked bread and fresh eggs." The dish of sport set before His Majesty was not "up to much" when compared with the Newmarket racing of to-day. Only two horses started with riders in "white" and "green," the latter proving victorious; the race, of course, witnessed by the King and his retinue, all mounted. It appears to have been the fashion of the day for the retinue to accompany the running horses, and to head them, waiting at the winning-post for their arrival and the coming of His Majesty with his numerous train of ladies and gentlemen. A blaze of trumpets and a flourish of alarm drums announced the victory, after which the Royal party adjourned to the house. The Duke of Tuscany, in describing the race, says that "the horses were not let out at first, but were much reserved lest strength should fail them; but the further they advanced in the course, the more their riders urged them, forcing them at length to full speed." This primitive kind of racing probably continued for fifty or sixty years; it was, however very much thought of by those who saw it, and Newmarket, as the seat of sport, continued to attract much attention. In Evelyn's diary of date July 20th, 1670, there occurs this entry: "We went to see the stables and fine horses, of which many were here kept at a vast expense, with all the art and tenderness imaginable."