Arrival of the Markham Arabian, the first Arab imported into England—Newmarket village founded by James I.—Decline of the “great horse”—The Royal Studs—James I. organises a race meeting on the frozen River Ouse—Superstitious beliefs concerning horses—James I. meets with a grotesque riding mishap—Prosperity of the Turf—Riding match between Lord Haddington and Lord Sheffield—The Turf vigorously denounced as “an evil likely to imperil the whole country's prosperity” 202 CHAPTER II First races of importance run at Newmarket—Races in Hyde Park—The Helmsley Turk and the Morocco Barb—Racing introduced into Holland—Importation of Spanish stallions into England—Prince Charles's riding master, the Duke of Newcastle—Increasing cost of horses—Marshal de Bassompierre; his loss through gambling, £500,000 in a year; Sir John Fenwick—Sir Edward Harwood's pessimism—Cromwell's Ironsides—Armour discarded—The opposition to stage coaches; Mr Cressett's theory; Charles II. favours their adoption 222 CHAPTER III The Commonwealth's “ordinance to prohibit horse racing”—Revival of racing under Charles II.—The King a finished horseman—The figure of Britannia—The Royal Mares—Formation of the thoroughbred stud—Thomas Shadwell's cynical description of life at Newmarket—Spread of horse racing in Ireland—Jockeys at Newmarket entertained by Charles II.—Sir Robert Carr; the Duke of Monmouth's connection with the Turf—Annual charge for horses of the Royal household, £16,640—Newmarket under the _régime_ of the Merry Monarch; the Duke of Buckingham 242 CHAPTER IV Arrival of the Byerley Turk—Roman Catholics forbidden to own a horse worth over £5—Henry Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, on the manners of the age—King William III.'s death due to a riding accident—The Duke of Cumberland's breeding establishment in Queen Anne's reign—Arrival of the Darley Arabian—The Godolphin Arabian—Royal Ascot inaugurated by Queen Anne—“Docking” and “cropping” condemned by Queen Anne; attempt to suppress these practices—The story of Eclipse—Some horses of romance—Copenhagen and Marengo 261 CHAPTER V A retrospective summary—The beginning of the end—Superstition of the horseshoe—The Bedouins and their horses—Some classic thoroughbreds of modern times—Horses hypnotised—The Derby and the Oaks—Horse racing in Mongolia—Conclusion 281 INDEX 295 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS The Knight, Death, and the Devil _Frontispiece_ From an engraving by Albert Dürer. Combat between Amazons and Attic heroes. Fourth century, B.C. 19 From a Greek vase in the British Museum. Greek coins showing horses in the early centuries before Christ 27