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THE STORY OF THE ST LEGER LEGERSecond Second only to Ascot from the social point of view the Legcr is the most important and the most popular racing fixture in the Midlands and UK North of England EnglandThe The late King Edward was a firm friend to Doncaster Leger week As Prince of Wales he rarely missed a single year but as king he never missed once after his coronation No matter where he spent the heat of the summer for his annual cure whether at Houiburg Marienbad or Biar ¬ ritz he always returned to England in time for the Leger For eight or nine years in succession he was the guest of Lord and Lady Savile at Ruffonl Abbey and until about four years ago his arrival was one of the picturesque incidents of the day He came by special train to Doncaster and drove from the station to the course in open carriage through crowds of thousands of cheering York shireinen Since the motor car came into its own Doncaster has been deprived of this pageant for his late majesty drove to the racecourse in a cov ¬ ered car by a route which left the town severely alone aloneThe The Leger of 1909 was the last King Edward attended It had a special interest to his majesty for his own horse Minoru was second favorite and having won the Derby of that year it looked like having a chance of pulling off the equally Im ¬ portant Doncaster prize But Bayardo won and instead of the king leading his horse into the pad ¬ dock to the accompaniment of a Yorkshire roar which would have shamed that of Epsom it was by common consent the most silent and the least enthusiastic win ever registered at Doncaster It was simply impossible to cheer Bayardo with the king looking down from the royal stand and show ¬ ing the dispppoiutmeut he felt at the defeat of his favorite horse The kings death was deeply mourned at Doncaster and the good news that his sou had taken over his racing stable was nowhere more welcome The scene when Piutadeau won at the spring meeting was one of unrestricted enthu ¬ siasm Hats were waved racecards were thrown up in the air and as the horse came off the course Lord Marcus Eerosford and Marsh the royal train ¬ er were overwhelmed with congratulations It will never be forgotten at Doncaster that King Georges first turf victory was on the course which had been the scene of his great parents own successes successesAs As a racing fixture the Doncaster September meet ¬ ing is one of the oldest in the kingdom It is beaten only by Chester in the north of England There has been racing at Doncaster since 1000 and what is more remarkable is Abe fact that from that day to this it has been managed by the corporation It is not generally recognized that in the old days of unreforined uuinicipalities quite a number of corporations had race meetings and conducted them with the double purpose of finding sport and enter ¬ tainment for the people and at the same time making something out of them With the estab ¬ lishment of Sandown Park most of these municipal meetings were abandoned There may be one or two still left but it is certain that Doncaster is the most noteworthy survival survivalFrom From beginning to end it is a purely business speculation with the corporation They manage it by a special committee exactly as they do tlis gas works or the tramway undertaking and every year they produce a balance sheet in order that the bur ¬ gesses may know what the races mean to them Roughly speaking the two meetings of the year mean a net profit to the town of 120000 per an ¬ num Thu outgoings are very small in comparison with the revenue for the corporation own the race ¬ course and all the stands the paddock and the salo ring and thus are spared the heavy ground rent which adds so much to the expense of other race meetings elsewhere The heaviest item they have to pay is their contribution to the stakes Lost year for the Leger week they gave ES05G to the prize money From admission money alone they drew 28000 From Doncasters point of view the result of this arrangement is both peculiar and sat ¬ isfactory Though the burgesses have to pay a district and county rate Doncaster is the only town in the kingdom which rejoices in having no borough rates at all due of course to the profits on the races At the present moment the rates are a little over us in the A about half what they are elsewhere and even this is only a temporary increase due to town improvement schemes which when paid off will bring the rate down to its normal figure of about 4s in the No wonder therefore that the ratepayers look very kindly on their races and would resent any policy either iiiiK riil or local which would end to cripple them as a profityielding enterprise enterpriseIt It is a fact that Doncastor draws the biggest crowds seen on any racecourse with the sole excep ¬ tion of the Derby day crowd at Epsom From the racing point of view the Champagne Stakes on the opening day Tuesday rank as the leading event for twoyearolds in the north of England Thu same day witnesses the Great Yorkshire Handicap a splendid preliminary to the Leger As to this lat ¬ ter race the chief event of Wednesday it is un ¬ doubtedly the greatest race of the year after the Derby and in some respects it has greater mpor tauce than the Epsoui event It is run over a semi circular course of a mile and threequarters the starting point and finishing post both being within sight of the grandstands This particular race has been run continuously since 1770 although its pres ¬ ent title was not given to it until 1778 In that year the conditions of the race were reformed by u Colonel St Leger at a race dinner at a Don caster hostelry and in honor of the colonels new regulations it vas christened the St Leger by the then Marquis of Rockinghaui cue of the gay party who sat at the table tableThe The race has been run on many different dales but for a hundred and fifty years it has been run in the second week in September Similarly it has varied in the length of the course having been over two miles but in 1844 it was fixed at one mile and threequarters and 132 yards and That is the exact distance still traversed traversedAfter After the Leger on Wednesday Thursday Is rather in the nature of an offday and the late King Edward generally chose that day for making a few calls at country houses in the neighborhood Racing picks up again on Friday which is known as Ladies Day On this day the events to be de ¬ cided include the Doncaster Cup the Prince of Wales Nursery and the Doncaster Stakes Of these the Cup is the most important fixture rank ¬ ing CupThe equal with the Goodwood Cup The best horses in the history of the turf and the greatest jockeys ever known have repeatedly figured at Doncaster Fred Archer who was cham ¬ pion jockey for thirteen consecutive seasons from 1S74 to 1SSG won the Leger six times as against the Derby five times the Thousand Guineas twice the Two Thousand Guineas four times and the Oaks four times On the other hand Jem Robin ¬ son a jockey of almost equal eminence won the Leger only twice though he won the Derbv six times and the Two Thousand Guineas no fewer than nine Of modern jockeys Danny Maher has two Legers to his credit creditAs As a social center Doucaster at one time had no equal in the north of England and there can lie no doubt that its races had a great deal to do with its eminence Indeed when Leeds and Bradford anil Sheffield were of little account the three principal towns in Yorkshire were York Pontefract and Doncaster and it is significant that all three places had races which still survive Doucaster of course was chief of the three Lying on the Great North Roud from London to Scotland It was easy of ac ¬ cess by coach It is not dlUicult to picture the scene in those days when all the great mansions in the neighborhood were full up with house parties when the servants were put Into new uniform and when the coach was repainted for its daily passage to the racecourse The town was overrun with vis ¬ itors and lodgings were at a premium The famous yellow coach of the Earl of Fitzwilliam drove in daily with postilions and outriders and there were scores of others lielonging to the lesser families The town was full up of bucks and blades and the theaters the assembly rooms the card and gam ¬ ing houses did roaring business businessThe The corporation out of their profits kept open Mansion House and gave dinners and routs to principal visitors and away back they even main ¬ tained a pack of municipal hounds and kept a firstclass hunting establishment going cocklight ¬ ing ratting and prizefighting were other gentle amusements of the period and many a duel has been fought on the far side of the racecourse In settlement of a fancied Insult given during this week of fullblooded pleasures If all these things are swept away and nothing remains but the racing it is all for the better Country houses still shelter parties of distinguished guests for the week but express trains and motor cars take the bulk of the visitors away each night All the same Don caster for a week is a center of almost indescrib ¬ able activity and though the ordinary resident is not in love with it he has the consoling reflection that it ministers to the prosperity of his town and that Doncaster would be very badly off without its Leger week Ernest Phillips in Fryes Magazine
