THISLTEDOWN..

Dunstan Times, Issue 1292, 3 December 1886, Page 3

THISLTEDOWN..

[By the Ooiel.] No. VUI-COTJNTY TUHF CLUBS. An acquaintance of " The Uhiel" came some thousands of miles across the deep blue Faa to pass hi 3 judgment on the Colonies in the following terras :—" There is present in the minds of the great majority of Colonial youths and colonised residents an Inordinate love of sport. It is needless to attempt Anything like a denial of the charge apulying with equal force to young and old alike, for though we are a little inclined that way, and selfdefence would warrant us in standing opposed to onr acquaintance in this in» stance, we are inclined to believe that sometime* we defend ontselves best by running awny from a sure licking. Though this love of srort is existing—has rather a lively existence—for all that we fail to see the reason why all our little sports should be consigned to oblivion, or why those who love them should also bo condemned with the sports. An inbred desire something akiri to intuitive law, regulates the amount of indulgence and the kind, of sport which is in- I dulged in. ■ . ■ ] There are_ some folks who take their amusement in doses at stated times and in .a proscrilwd form like they take doctor's pills.. Others again are only too ready to ■ gee't a holiday on any pretence whatever, and soma are foolish enough to make of

"plsaswifß fttotipand tn-TOaH-; wiWly-at-every chance of enjoying themselves, as they term it, Teir presence is an indispensable requisite to the success of any gathering, at least they think so. If they.go to a ball they mast be engaged for every dance, and have half-a-dozen chances td spare. They sing at'every concert, and so on One is apt to meet with some folks—but their , number is not very large—who are only fond of one- particular kind of amusement, on that‘they dote, and like the miser clasps his cankered gold, so they hug their favorite joy ; like as the schoolboy in his hot pursuit of the gaily painted buttei fly crushes beneath his hearty tread beautiful flowers over whose despoil his sister would weep, so they rush blindly on in their, search after their fond idol missing many another quite as good if they only knew it. Amongst the various out-door amusements afforded folks horseracing stands well to the front. A perusal of the advertising columns of the Times and its Vincent County contemporaries will surely be sufficient to bear me oul should I say that every town of consequence in the bounty can boast of a “ Turf Club,” and prizes aie offered extending in value from. 10 to 100 sovereigns. ’A racing day is a holiday of special occasion and importance. The people put on their bit of heat, and though there is not the .magnificence.of dress and display that is discernible on the courses of larger centres of population, for all that our ladies are not;, behind in showing off “ their best croom of gown,” as a dear Cornish woman 1 Know always says.... .. . A good business is done on the course in various lines. Betting is freely indulged in. Many horsey-men who think they know a thing or two are prepared to hazard money on the chances of their favorite horse to land a winner, and some of these waxing confident by the previous performances of thsir horse are prepared to offer long odds as an inducement to others to lay against them. ;s A good business is invariably done with' great convenience to gamblers the totali sator, and some females who perhaps received their first lesson in gambling at some Church Bazaar, where they helped to raffle something forfour times its value, knowing that their conduct on that occasion was not regarded as siiiful, but was winked at hy the parson, and failing to see the difference in this game of chance, make up a little sweep of hatf-a-crown each with no percentage deducted from the holder of the winning number. Of coarse it is needless to say that they only do it lor fun ;so not the man—the fun consists in winning. . Coming tp the races themselves, or rather the horses, we sometimes see a peculiar field of animals, and ridden by jockeys in every fantastic and varied costume. The programme gives everybody that owns a horse a chance to enter it for the various events. Trots and Hurdles. Plates, Cups, Derbys, and Hacks, all nicely arranged to please both owners and spectators. Sometimes some of the horses entered are very deceiving in appearance. Mr Sticker owns a trotter—Odd Bumblefoot -that looks about good enough to put into a spring cart to take around vegetables, but tho handicappers evidently know him, for they send him off from scratch lest he might come in too much ahead of the others. 1 reckon he can trot. Mr Flashem owns a horse—leastwise a mare—called Mias Misser, and he is of opinion that she can gallop. It is a good job he thinks so, for no one else does, and she has never yet been guilty of giving anyone grounds to come to such a conclusion. Come to think though, it isn’t a good job for Mr Flashem’a pocket that he thinks his horse can go a bit. Ho might save money it he thought she couldn't, and so give up entering her for races she is unfitted to win, but it is just so when folks are confident of the ultimate success of their horse some day, they keep up their little game until at last crushed by repeated losses they retire from the racing business n d s_,nat. But Flashora is not the only one who errs in this direction. A very influential man in one of our Clubs is owner of a horse with a very pretty name, which would be rightly called failure, but yet he’d knock anyone down who dared tell him so. It is of benefit to the Club financially that mpn of this class are in existence. I know one who elite.ed a horse for a race not because ho had any hope of winning, but because it would mean an extra half sov. to the funds of the Clnb. Say what you like, it was a very generous act on, and very straightforward for him to acknowledge it.