Related article: Then came the turn of the kaliedoscope — that dread edict, which closed all courses that could not show ^"300 a day added money. How well I recollect sending up a programme of an old-established meeting, in which I took a personal interest, to Messrs. Weatherby for their sanc- tion, and having it returned to me with the word "rejected" marked on it, because we had a £100 Plate, by subscription of 10 so vs. each, half forfeit. A County or Borough Members' Subscrip- tion could not (even on the eve of an election) be screwed up to 100 sovs., or a Town Plate to more than 40 sovs., so that we were forced to see a racecourse that had enjoyed racing since the reign of Queen Anne, drop down into i«99-J COMING EVENTS. 169 Generic Calcium Carbonate the lower stratum ol hurdle racing and steeplecbasing, and then die out altogether, and that in com- pany with scores of others as un- fortunate, yet as deserving as ourselves. Once again we are starting the season under new auspices. The lengths of our races are to be greater, our two- year- olds are to be discouraged in racing before the end of May. Their stakes are to be limited to ^"200, and their Dumber per meeting are to be lessened — personally I acknow- ledge to wishing that the distance of spring two-year-old racing had been limited to half a mile, but a small majority overruled Lord Stanley's motion on this subject. Our Turf legislators move slowly — too slowly in some things — for instance, why do they hesitate so long about the adoption of the starting gate — at all events, in two-year-old racing as a tentative measure? Almost every im- partial observer of the present system can no longer uphold it. It has notoriously failed of late, as in the Cambridgeshire, and in several important Nurseries I could mention. No starter is infallible, and as we get older our nerve and eyesight do not aid us as of yore. Hence the sharp- witted jockeys take an unfair ad- vantage at the start, which the Purchase Calcium Carbonate machine would deny them. " Oh," say the outspoken ones, " of course, we all know that the starting-machine is the only fair thing, but then so many rich and influential owners are against it, because their highly-paid jockeys would lose the advantage which they so often get in a start now. It would equalise matters too much.' 1 And again we hear it said, " What a farce it is to have one or two races at a meeting started at a gate — some horses may have been practised at it, and some not, and what is easier for the jockeys who are interested in its non-adoption than spoiling a gate start by their tactics ? it has already been done." Probably it will remain for the year 1900 to initiate this auto- matic means of handling race- horses at the post. If a member of the Jockey Club would pretty regularly attend starting-posts in mufti, he would not long remain unconvinced. There is another new departure, which is worthy of notice in writing of coming events, although this is more connected with breed- ing than the actual racing, and this is the figure system, showing how all our racehorse families have been bred since the initiation of Stud Book. To this the Turf is indebted chiefly to the research of the late Mr. Bruce Lowe, al- though death carried him away before he could publish the result of his labours. We find that the fabric of our Stud Book is made from 36 mares ; of the descend- ants of these matrons very few have died out, and in tracing these surviving lines all the winning sires of classic races have numbers attached to them, by which they can be recognised, and each family is also numbered. Thus the breeder, by working out the pedigree of his mare, can trace the winning strains, the consanguinity of blood, or the strength or weakness of its num- bering, and he can mate his animal to his liking, and accord- ing to the excellence of the family which he desires to perpetuate. It has been received sceptically in some quarters, as a mere rule- of-three system of breeding, which may be all very well in theory, but practically, will be of little use. Personally, however, I be- lieve that it is a revelation to many, and may mark an era in 170 BAILY S MAGAZINE. [Match our racehorse breeding, which if it does no more than carry out the old truism of " the survival of the fittest," will confer a benefit on the Turf. The tables which accompany the volume are splen- didly worked out, and although the slight allusion here made to it gives but a vague idea of its general utility, I must record my belief that it is destined to mark an era in breeding beyond what the mere tabulating of pedigrees could ever accomplish. I have made these few remarks more for the benefit of your general readers, who may not already have troubled themselves to inquire minutely into the volume, rather than of the professional breeders, who have studied it deeply — the majority of whom, I fancy, believe in it implicitly. And now let us take a review Of the three - year - olds of the coming season, as far as they have hitherto shown themselves Cheap Calcium Carbonate on racecourses, for they are the backbone of coming events. At a first glance we see how much more international our racing is each year becoming, for here we find French and American horses taking first places with our English and Irish -bred ones — all, it is true, from our own original stock, yet bred and reared abroad. First stands Holocauste, a grey colt by Le Sancy out of Bougie, that has won a great and deserv- ing reputation in France, and we no longer despise French form on our racecourses. We are pro- mised a sight of him on the Derby day, and I opine that his credentials stand second to none among all of his compeers that we could name. It is very un- usual for a grey to be a first-rate racehorse, yet considering how few there are of that colour, we cannot expect to see them often in the van, and as hunters they are so often undeniable that Buy Calcium Carbonate I should not allow this prejudice to