Читать книгу A Mirror of the Turf - James Glass Bertram - Страница 17

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There are not less, so it has been computed—counting mere foals, yearlings, two, three, four, and five-year-olds, as well as sires and dams—than 10,000 horses devoted to the service of the turf. The brood mares at the stud number, on an average, 3,000, and the number of sires may be estimated at say 350; the net produce of the stud, deducting casualties of many kinds, such as barren mares, slipped foals, deaths, and exportation, may be taken as being 2,000 foals—colts and fillies—per annum. Of that number a considerable percentage never comes upon the racing scene; unfitness for the work of the turf, accidents, and death, being constant factors in determining the L. S. D. of racing. It would be curious to trace the many calamities that occur to prevent horses distinguishing themselves. Two hundred horses may be entered as yearlings for the Derby, but only about five per cent. of the number may contest a given race. Say that there are fourteen or even sixteen runners; what has become of the others? Several will have died; many after being trained will be found to have no chance; and not unlikely several of those entered may be found in the shafts of a cab. Some foals of last year, for instance, may ultimately be trained as horses for ladies; others may be drafted to the hunting-field or to the circus, whilst not a few may ultimately find their way to tramway stables. Many a time and oft has a high-bred horse changed hands for a twenty-pound note.

In forming an estimate of the value of the racing stock of the period, the price paid for the yearlings which change hands at the public sales must first of all be noted. In 1889, according to "Ruff," 851 of these baby horses were purchased at prices varying from 4,000 gs. to 8 gs. During the last twenty years large numbers of yearlings have changed hands at big prices, one, two, and three thousand guineas being often paid in the course of a sale for animals that purchasers fancy, colts or fillies, that look as if they would, when properly trained, "make race-horses," and probably in time reward their owners by winning a few of the great prizes of the turf. Other horses, mature animals, ready-made racers, that is to say, or those suited for breeding, occasionally fetch very high prices; but it is possible for illustrative purposes to strike an average as between those which sell for thousands and those which only bring tens. It should not be an over estimate to fix upon a sum of £300 each as being the value of the 10,000 animals of all ages, from colts to matrons of mature years, which would represent a total sum of £3,000,000, the interest on which, calculated at the rate of five per cent., would amount to £150,000 per annum.

There then comes the question of the annual expenditure incurred in keeping up the various racing studs of the country. The board and lodging of a race-horse varies, according to the stable in which he is kept and the status of the trainer, from two pounds or two guineas a week to a half more than that. Of horses told off for breeding purposes, no note need be taken, as breeding is a business that is at least self-supporting, and sometimes, as in the case of Hermit, immensely profitable; nor shall foals be considered. It will be about correct to consider half of the 10,000 as being in racing trim, horses ranging from two years of age to six, and 5,000 at £156 per annum for board and lodging—including various extras, in some of the stables—represents a total sum of £780,000.

In addition to the amount paid for board and lodging, the expenses attendant on the entering of a race-horse for the different events in which its owner may desire to see it run, are very heavy. These vary exceedingly. Some proprietors are in the habit of entering their animals in from half-a-dozen to twenty races, the forfeits in which for non-runners range from perhaps five to twenty-five pounds. It is not an easy matter to fix upon a figure that may be taken fairly as representative of these forfeits; but if ten pounds per horse be fixed upon for the whole 5,000, it will be much within, certainly not over the mark. A sum of £50,000 would thus be added to the account of outlays.

The travelling expenses of trainers and stable attendants when in charge of horses, and the fees paid to the boys who ride them, form an important item in the cost of a racing stud. Many horses in the course of a season will be taken to eight or ten meetings, some of which are situated a few hundred miles from the training quarters of the horses. The only mode by which an illustrative sum can be arrived at, is by adopting an average; some horses will cost over a hundred pounds a year for railway travelling and other expenses, including the fees paid to the jockeys who ride them in their races, and if a sum of £25 per annum be placed against each of the 5,000 horses assumed to be taking, at present, an active part in the sport of kings, in name of travelling and miscellaneous expenses, it gives a total of £125,000.

A recapitulation of these figures gives the following result:

Interest on capital sunk in race-horses	£150,000
Cost of keeping horses	780,000
Amounts paid in entries and forfeits	50,000
Travelling and other expenses	125,000
	——————
Making a grand total of	£1,105,000

It becomes apparent, then, that the sum of £1,105,000 ought to be obtained every year in stakes, to recoup gentlemen and others engaged in the pastime of horse-racing for the outlays they make. But no such sum has ever been realised, and, in consequence, gambling has to be resorted to to provide the difference; hence that extensive betting, which is the most remarkable feature of the turf. The preceding figures are given with the view of illustrating the proposition that horse-racing, except in rare cases, cannot be made to pay. It happens every season, that one or two owners are so fortunate as to win from £10,000 to £20,000 in stakes—they may even experience a run of good fortune during three or four consecutive years, and, after all, the game may not have paid them, or done more than make ends meet. No matter the good fortune that may attend individuals, it is, as has been demonstrated, an undoubted fact that the cost of racing in any one year is far beyond the total amount which can be won.

The foregoing facts and figures must not be taken for more than they are worth, they are simply offered as being more or less illustrative of the L. S. D. of horse-racing, and the simplest methods of illustration have been resorted to. Columns of figures on the subject might have been given for the inspection of the reader; but probably the mode adopted will give a better idea of the L. S. D. of the turf (betting excepted), and the facts briefly stated may make a more lasting impression than a more formal statement would do.

What must be kept well in mind in connection with racing finance, is the great fact that the money expended is not hid away in a napkin, but is circulated. Stables and stores have to be built or extended, hay and corn has to be provided for the horses, the lads who groom them and ride them at exercise have to be paid, so have the fees of the jockeys who ride them; travelling expenses of horses, trainers, and jockeys help to swell railway receipts, and to augment the dividends of not a few who look with horror on the turf and the ways of life of those connected with it.

It has been calculated, for instance, that no less than £120,000 will be expended on the Derby Day by visitors to London and Epsom in travelling and personal expenses (i.e., eating and drinking), and there are at least 250 days in every year on which large sums are spent in the same direction. Travelling, hotel expenses, and entrance to race grounds soon take the corners off a ten-pound note, and there are thousands at that kind of work nearly all the year round. It has also been "calculated" that, in all probability, ten thousand persons are employed in various capacities in direct connection with racing, in stables, on stud farms, etc.; and if men and boys be set down as earning over-head, including board and lodging, £1 a week all the year round, the sum so expended will exceed half a million sterling.