It will, perhaps, be thought by some persons that the dark side of things is too much dwelt upon in the following pages, that too much is said about the frauds and chicaneries of the turf, and too little about the brighter aspects of the sport, but it must be borne in mind that racing has unfortunately become a "business" of the most sordid kind; the majority of the men engaged in the "sport" run their horses only as "instruments of gambling," whilst not a few of them to ensure success condescend to practices that will not bear the light of day. The turf gambling of the period has become enormous, but few outside the range of racing circles have hitherto had much knowledge of the immense amount of money which changes hands day by day in the various betting rings, or in the numerous turf clubs that abound in almost every city and large town of the kingdom. The betting in connection with horse-racing which has of late been so fiercely denounced, and the rationale of which is so little understood by even the best informed economists and legislators, is described at considerable length in the following pages, whilst the practice of betting on credit is honestly denounced for the reasons given. Chapters of this book are also devoted to other phases of turf organisation; the powers of the Jockey Club are detailed and explained, the rules of racing are criticised, and the every-day work of trainers, touts, tipsters, and jockeys set forth. Sporting writers, when turf matters are being considered, and the sordid motives of the majority of those who frequent racecourses and other turf resorts are being called in question, cry out loudly about the unfairness of attacking the turf, and allowing the more gigantic gambling of which the Stock Exchange is the theatre to escape censure. But as the proverb says, "two blacks will never make one white"; besides, this book is not "an attack" on horse-racing, it is simply, as its title indicates, "a mirror of the turf." It is the "Sport of Kings" only which is treated of in the following pages; the author willingly leaves the wide subject of commercial morality or immorality, to be treated by other pens. MAYFAIR. CONTENTS. PAGE AN EXERCISE GALLOP TO BEGIN WITH v BEGINNINGS OF RACING 1 NEWMARKET IN EARLY DAYS 19 OTHER SEATS OF HORSE-RACING 31 THE L. S. D. OF THE TURF 60 BUSINESS OF HORSE-RACING. OFFICERS OF THE TURF 77 THE CLASSIC RACES. THE ST. LEGER, ETC. 104 HANDICAPS 147 NOTES ON MEMORABLE MATCHES 158 WITH THE PROPHETS 171 MODERN BETTING ILLUSTRATED AND EXPLAINED 190