inevitable sequence that the superior qualities of the one would very soon be engrafted on the other, and by this process of breeding, a better type would be produced than either of the originals. This first step was only a prelude to the next, and that again to the next, until the common, plain lesson was thoroughly learned, that if a running horse was wanted the way to get him was to breed to a running horse that had proved he was a running horse. The improvement became very wide and general, and occasionally an animal was produced with such phenomenal speed that he was barred from stakes and purses. On this foundation, and this alone, the running turf was built up and continued for about eighty years, with occasional intervals, when the gamblers made it so nasty that no decent people would go near it. The first subscription plate race of which we have any trace is to be found in the _New York Gazette_, of September 27, 1736, of which the advertisement is given below. The course indicated is believed to have been on the Church Farm, west of Broadway, and not far from where the Astor House now stands. There is no account of what horses won, and all we know is just what is in the advertisement. “On Wednesday, the 13th of October next, will be run for, on the course at New York, a plate of twenty pounds’ value, by any horse, mare or gelding, carrying ten stone (saddle and bridle included), the best of three heats, two miles each heat. Horses intended to run for the plate are to be entered the day before the race, with Francis Child, on Fresh Water Hill, paying a half pistole each, or at the post on the day of running, paying a pistole. And the next day being the 14th, will be run for, on the same course, by all or any of the horses that started for the twenty-pound plate (the winning horse excepted) the entrance money, on the conditions above. Proper judges will be named to determine any disputes that may arise. All persons on horseback or in chairs, coming into the field (the subscribers and winning horse only excepted) are to pay sixpence each to the owner of the grounds.”