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LORD STANLEY ON ENGLISH STARTING The feature in the GImcrack Club Dinner in York December 3, when Mr. W. Hall Walker was the guest of honor for the third year in succession, was Lord Stanleys speech, no very truly said the turf is much purer and in a more satisfactory state than lots of foolish people are inclined to make out and also mentioned that next year it is proposed to start a race course inspector. This should be an excellent thing, as certainly the condition of many race courses, except possibly just in the neighborhood of the stands, requires careful overhauling. In his speech Lord Stanley said that there was a subject which was much debated in one of the leading papers The Sporting Life, and that was the question of the standing start. It was brought forward at the Jockey Club meeting in June, and the Jockey Club, was absolutely unanimous about it. He thought that the heaven upon earth which would come upon the sporting world if they had a walking up start was an absolute delusion. It would only mean that they would have a repetition of those false starts, which, owing to the introduction of the gate, were, he believed, gone forever. Statistics tended to prove that after all the number of horses that wore left at the post was not an extraordinary proportion of the sum total. Under "left" were often included horses that got badly away and he was certain that under any circumstances with a walking up or a standing start It would have been the same thing. During the year horses that got away badly numbered 307, left at the post 130, and of the latter thirty-nine whipped ronnd at the post and twelve took nc part in the race through bolting or throwing the rider. Thus in the year there were 443 horses that got away badly or were left at the post. The number of horses that ran during the year was 15.GCC and therefore there were rather less than three per cent, which did not get away. If they took into account some Of the vory big nurseries at the end of the year and some of the very big handieans there were, ho did not think they could say that the standing start had been an absolute failure. Alluding to the proposal for a circular course at Newmarket, Lord Stapley1 said he most strongly objected to it. They had at Newmarket the finest course In the world. By the powers which they had of finishing at different winning posts they could give every possible test for speed and stamina, and as long as he had anything to do with It there would be no change of any sort or kind with regard to the racing, so far as distances and winning posts were concerned, at Newmarket.
