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FEATURES OF AUSTRALIAN RACING. Australian racing is conducted under the control and rules, of the Victorian Racing Club, which has a membership of 1,200 and is as autocratic as is the Jockey . Club in England. During the year the Victorian Racing Club alone pays away over 25,000 in stakes. For that sum there are sixteen days racing at Fletriingtoh, anil if the Cauifield Club rind , other racing c4trb meetings are taken info eonsldpr-Jatibri, a siim exceeding C0,CC0 per annum is annually paid away in stakes in Victoria alone, so Utat it is obvious it is a good thing to .be tlie owner of horses there Wh6 will carry the" colors first past the post. Victoria also has its Graiid National Steeplechase and Hurdle Race In the winter, and he former has ,500 iidddd to It, an,T the latter ,010. The Grand National is run over a course Of ihrce miles and a furlong, and there are twentf-two stiff fences. These are all made of posts, rails, and stone Walls, and as they will not give: an inch, the horses must either jump thehi or come to" grlbf. in addition to the Victorian Racing Club fixtures and the Caulfieid Club racing, there are five proprietary: race courses within a radius of twenty miles of Melbourne. Fourteen days are alloffed to-the Caulfieid Club and seven days eaah to the proprietary race courses!. There are three Hunt Cliibs, each 6f wlilch lias tw6 days" racing, so that altogether the Victorians are extremely well catered for. " The Victorian Racing Clubs ?ixtceii tjajs are diyded. up, there bejng four davs Cup Meeting, four days Autumn Meeting, and " three days Grand National Meeting, the remainder being single days. The regulations in force are largely similar Vo tfiose which obtain, in England, and it Is inevitable that it should be so. because the Jockey ClnbVrules! were taken as the basis of the Victorian Racing Club rules, such alterations being made from, time to time as experience has dictated. So much lm-!: portaneo is attached to the naming of horses thatrj an unnamed animal is not allowed nnder anyj 1 clrcuriftiancr s to sttrt in a race. All courses arid" all races must be advertised hi the Ra1cIngvClen- dor." and they must race under the VictorlanRac-ing CluirrulrS. Unregistered meetings are hTd here and there, but the result of takTrigpart1hi them-is i serious-to o.vners. Any"lIorse rurfhlujiat?- asf lirfrejjis- tered meeting is perpetually aiquallfleti froth racing at rt registered meeting unless special" per-: mission he given. In some cases Where the cfrcum-syinees have been exceptional a permit hasl-teen, given, but one Is not to be had for tile1 mere asking; and It may be broadly accepted that" once si runner at an, unregistered meeting a horse 5 has finished Its career In legitimate radihg. , The proprietary clubs are allowed topromote race, meetings only on faithfully observing the condition that at least 1,730 per day must be given for six races, and if there is- any desire to inelude selling races in the program thesfakes must be Wridfiltion td the .fl.TCO: The eltect of this was tb so drs-conrage: celling faces that they may be- said t6 be almost non-existent at registered meetings in Victoria;-: -There is A saiufary rule with regard1 to them whicli has had the effect of cnowdlng them out of the programs. The Melbourne Cup is the great meeting ;of the year, 5,000 being added by the Victorian Racing Club for this meeting. It lasts four days, and Cup day must be seen -to be thoroughly appreciated; The Cup is a 25.000 race, with a; sweepBtdkes of 150 added, afid riot a penny of the sweepstakes1 goes to the racing fund. The second horse receives" 5.0C0 arid the third 2,500; the -winner- always re- celviug not less than the 5,000 previously men-: tioned. There- is a keen desire in Australia: to breed stayers, hence one firids that here is Only one race fcr all-aged horses of .six furlongs, but for two-year-olds there is tjje Maribyrnfliig, Plate, of fivi furloiips. and 7,500 is added to the stakes; This" rare, wfildh is- run eaHy in November, is named after a celebrated breedihg esfablisiiment of many years ago. arid It is the richest tVo-year-old race In the whole1 of Australia. . The attendances at Victorian race meetings are enormous", the number on Cup days, at Fleutlngton being- from SO.OCO to 100,0001 and jet there are never any disturbances. The terms oh which the Flemington course" ani grounds laid orft in splendid style-are leased maEe it imperative" for free admission to be allowed on the flatj and thousands Upori thousands congregate" inside the famous Rite-shaped track. There is, however;, a rule which is most strictly enforced. -Onlookers" itre ffot,pe"i-ntIttea , under any pretense whateverttf walk about or even cross the course on the day of a nice, and this has been- found so conducive to comfort and good order that there is not the slightest chance the prohibition will be removed in the slightest extcritr There is no doubt that racing Is becoming even more pOpular. anil on Cup day Flemiiigtori is the Mecca of all racegoers, Whether regular or otherwise, while in addition it is so brilliant a function that thousands attend it from all parts- of the couiif. try because of the balls, dinners, dances; and other society arrangements in connection -with it. Everything is done that experience lias suggested or thoughtfulness provide, f6r the: comfort : aW convenience of the patrons of race meetlrigs. It is recognized that those who. pay their tiiilf-crowns; five shillings, or.feii shillings keep, the meetings going; and it is the duty of the executive to provide for- tfieir comfort In" every possible vay. Tliis is shown even In the matter of face cards. They are not the meagre kind of things oii"e" so often finds in flils country;; but booklets of many pages, cbntain-Ing most useful information. The prcfgrariis sold at llemihgtbn for a shilling eaebr contain the placed horses at the three previous - raedtlngs",. with the distances of the races, and the weights Carried, full details of each horse entered witii natu of trainer, pages fcr recording bets, printed lists for sweeps, etc. When distinguished visitors attend they are always handed a iiandsomely-bouftd, gilt-edged copy of the program, with pciicil attaclied:
