Turf (sport)

“ It is a grim joke, in fact, to speak of "sport" at all in their connection. The turf to them is but a wider and more vicious sort of tapis vert—the racing but the rolling of the balls—the horses but animated dice. It is difficult to name a single honest or manly instinct which is propagated by the turf as it is, or which does not become debased and vitiated by the association. From a public recreation the thing has got to be a public scandal. ”

“ On the determination of a race there may be hundreds of thousands of pounds at stake, and [Pg 103] the winning some day of thirty, forty, or fifty thousand may only be accomplished by a couple of inches—a nose, in the slang of the turf; indeed, a horse is sometimes said, when the contest is a notably close one, to win by the skin of its teeth. Under such circumstances, it is consoling to those interested to know that "the man in the box" is above suspicion. ”

“ It is interesting to note that every crevice and every space under a bunch of grass or the edge of the turf is occupied with the birds. One must walk with caution so as not to step on them. Down by the water the earliest hatched sport in the pools while the mother sits quietly by with one or two of the puffy balls perched upon her back. ”

“ The incidents of the Cesarewitch outside racing circles are not of very great interest; many of the animals which have proved successful have never again been heard of as being of any value on the turf. The distance run is a little over two miles and a quarter, and as the pace is usually a rapid one, it takes a very good horse to win when the animal is really weighted according to its merits. ”

“ Racing, wherever we meet it existing as a popular sport, is the growth of a root indigenous to England. All the appliances of civilization are carried to a higher degree of perfection among us, in the present day, than at any former period of our history: the Turf, and all its materiel, it cannot be doubted, has attained a comparative condition of excellence. ”

“ By the end of the third or how far they exceed those of the Saratoga track. Possibly one does not do its extent justice because there is no track at Doncaster: there is nothing but a green turf, with a certain course railed off on it. I hope the reader will be as much surprised as I was to realize that the sport of horse-racing in England gets its name of Turf from the fact that the races are run on the grass, and not on the bare ground, as with us. ”

“ Sir Richard Strongman, Lord Strapmore, and the Honourable Thomas Rowbotham have each entered three or four of their horses in an important handicap, what is more natural, on the turf, than that they should lay their heads together to "best" the public, and pull off a good thing at long odds for themselves? ”

“ Few persons, indeed, other than those very intimately associated with the "sport of kings," know much about the interior working of what is undoubtedly the most remarkable institution of our day. Nor has it been given even to persons deeply interested in the business of the turf to ascertain with precision the varied functions of the Club, or the mechanism by which it moves. ”

“ Seeing that the path in the turf maze has as a rule no branches or dead-ends, the sport in question would appear to have been rather simple in98 character, unless we imagine the participants to have been blindfolded for the purpose or primed with a tankard or two of some jocund beverage. ”

“ No positive accusations are here made against individuals; but a turf system which admits of jockeys riding one horse and backing another animal in the same race to win them a large stake, is, to say the least of it, susceptible of some improvement; but where all, with but few exceptions, are preaching a gospel of gambling, reform seems, at the present time, to be far off. ”

“ The first thing to be observed is that such a matter cannot be organised in a week or even in a month. The long-headed turf expert who strikes for fortune at a blow will probably have been at work upon his scheme for perhaps twelve or eighteen months, or more likely for double that length of time. ”

“ Such turf rogueries are more frequent than is supposed by the general public. Many a race that, before being run, was deemed a certainty for a particular animal, has resulted in a surprise that would not have proved so had the truth been made manifest by a recital of its private history. At one time it was no unusual circumstance for an animal which had become favourite for a particular race to be prevented from winning by violent means. ”

“ 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 ”

“ The turf indeed appears to have attracted a great deal of notice, and the systematic preparation of running horses was studied, attention being paid to their feeding and training, to the instruction of jockeys—although private matches between gentlemen who rode their own horses were very common,—and to the adjustment of weights, which were usually about 10 stone. The sport also seems to have taken firm hold of the people, and to have become very popular. ”

“ The English hurdles are fixed firmly in the ground, so that hitting an obstacle there means a fall—and this happened at these games to at least one man in each heat. After all, however, it seems a better arrangement than our way, for it compels the racers to jump the hurdles, and if a fall does result it is a good deal more like sport to fall on turf than to carry away several ounces of cinders in one's face and arms. ”

“ The work of the starter is occasionally most onerous and difficult to perform satisfactorily. Firmness and decision of character ought to be the chief characteristic of this officer of the turf. At times as many as thirty, and even on occasion forty horses will assemble to compete in some popular handicap, each jockey being eager to secure an advantage over his neighbour at the start. ”

“ And now we have arrived at the race of the meeting—if not indeed of the century. As we have no means of measuring the properties of race-horses—at least none that are put into effect worthy of acceptance as authority on point of speed—we must take it for granted that the [Pg 168] Flying Dutchman and Voltigeur are about the best horses that the modern turf has seen. Upon this conventional estimate, the contest, the issue of which is about to be disposed of, created more interest than any match between horses within my memory. The weighing had been adjusted to a grain ”

“ With the payment of such large sums of ready money as would be involved, there would undoubtedly be a considerable falling off in the entries of certain classes of races—which many turf men think would prove an advantage. ”

“ The kind of business indicated in the foregoing remarks is frequently attempted; there is a gentleman often at work, who is reputed to have a voice in four or five stables, and that being so he is able to prearrange, with considerable success, a good deal of the turf work of the period. ”

“ It was a grand panorama, and as, while May off-saddled, our sportsmen cast themselves on the grass of a natural platform overhanging the scene, a fine buck started out of a bush, and passed them by with head erect, eyeballs strained, and limbs quivering with terror and dismay. The rifles of both sportsmen were brought to the shoulder at one instant, and in another, the beautiful animal was stretched upon the turf, dying the plants, which enamelled it, in blood. ”

“ The "SOD" is known to be fully expressive of cocking; the "FIELD," of hunting; and the "TURF," of {427} racing; these being the admitted technical terms of the sporting world, to which none else make the least pretensions. The emulative and inspiring pleasures of the turf, like the ecstatic enjoyment of the chase, are too great in their temptation and attractions for the spirited part of mankind to resist. ”

“ The young and lordly Susquehanna;
She nestles there her virgin charms,
The soft-voiced, lovely Juniata;
⁠There in the bright sunlight!"
And so, good-by for another season to the sweet waters, the dancing boat, and the biceps-building paddle. There is no sport or exercise so complete as canoeing a river, for it embraces all sports,—the excitement of rapid water, the delicious plunge, the long swim down stream, the fishing and shooting, the free camping out at night, and the endless beauty of the panoramic scene. ”

“ A smooth, closely cut turf is always to be chosen, and is improved by a thorough rolling with a very heavy roller, or, if that is not available, a few hours’ work with a heavy mall will bring the ground into very good condition. Next to having the turf smooth, the most important point is to have the ground level; and yet a very good game can be played on an uneven or sloping ground, if in making the strokes and determining the necessary force and direction, a proper calculation is made with reference to the condition of the surface over which the ball is to pass. ”

“ After the race meeting known as Royal Ascot had been inaugurated by Queen Anne, in 1712, the tone of the Turf in England greatly improved. The rules of racing were revised, and more attention was paid to their enforcement. Also steps were taken to prevent “undesirable and roguish persons” from “indulging in their wicked and thievish habits”—in short, a serious attempt was made to purify the Turf, as the process is termed now. ”

“ Rowing, yachting, swimming, and tennis, it is true, share its popularity in the midsummer months, but riding is an all the year round sport—a sport that in the cool months of spring and fall, and the colder months of winter, has no rival among all the forms of outdoor exercise. And, indeed, I know of no other pleasure on a brisk, cool day that gives the physical invigoration, the keen enjoyment, and the ruddy glow to be obtained from a gallop in the park. But to get the fullest pleasure the rider must be well mounted and well trained in his art. ”

“ After impact, and the release of all tension, body and arms are allowed to swing forward in the direction of the flight of the ball, and I would allow the right knee to give a little in order to remove all restraint. But the weight must not be entirely taken off the right foot. That foot must still be felt to be pressing firmly on the turf, showing that although the weight has been changed from one place to another, the proper balance has not been lost. ”

“ Training.—A jockey, with his saddle strapped on his back, ready to mount for the race, is receiving the final and special instructions of his patron, a venerable and evidently deep file, well versed in the iniquities of the turf, whose face wears an expression of experienced and long-trained cunning. Another version of Tricks of the Turf, or Settling how to Lose a Race (1821) .
An Exhibition.—The fashionable attendants at a gallery of pictures. All the spectators are lost in wonder and admiration at the collection of paintings. ”

“ He is reported, upon this occasion, to have used his horse to raw beef upon the bit in his mouth. Some go so far as to say he always rode with fowls’ guts tied round it. Be this so or not, it was a race that equalled, if not surpassed, the first achievements of turf velocity. ”

“ Open air tracks for summer sprint-racing can hardly follow a better model than a common trotting track, but if a turf surface, level and free from stones, holes or roots, can be secured, it is still better except in a long drought, when the turf becomes very slippery. ”

“ Clubs, the Racing Plomb Club and the Pur Plomb Club, now exist in Paris, the members of which declare that the movements of little leaden horses over a course, in accordance with the throw of the dice, are more amusing and exciting than roulette or baccarat. The little metal steeds used at this game are named after prominent race-horses on the French Turf. ”

“ An interminable grassy plain covered with a thick short turf is the ground, where various distances, from a full German mile as maximum, to an eighth or tenth, as minimum, are marked for the course in a perfectly straight line. ”

“ TURF, the top or surface of earth when covered with grass, forming a coherent mass of mould or soil in which the roots of grasses and other plants are embedded. This is capable of being cut out in solid mat-like blocks, known by the same name. Similarly “peat” (q.v.) when cut in pieces for fuel or other purposes is also styled “ turf ” The term is applied widely to any stretch or sward of trimmed grass-land, and thus by metonymy, to horse-racing and all connected with it, from the owning and running of race-horses to betting. ”

“ You will notice that the ball is comparatively near the right foot, and that the right arm is lightly steadied on the hip. Let the stroke itself be as near to a push as you can manage it without actually committing that offence, and it will aid you in controlling your distance if the club head is allowed to "sclaff" along the turf or scrape it lightly. Remember, too, that after getting your direction you must look at the ball and not at the hole. ”

“ Never canter on the high road, and see that your groom does not indulge himself by so doing. On elastic springy turf the pace, which in reality is a series of short bounds, if not continued too long at a time, does no great harm, but one mile on a hard, unyielding surface causes more wear-and-tear of joints, shoulders, and frame generally, than a long day's work of alternating walk and trot which, on the Queen's highway, are the proper paces. There is no objection to a canter when a bit of turf is found on the road-side ”