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STORY OF THE LINCOLNSHIRE Why the Early English Mile Han ¬ dicap Is Popular History of Ancient Kacc and andAntiquated Antiquated Lincoln Course CourseUpon Upon Which It Is Run BY J K WESTON WESTONLONDON LONDON England March 15 The fourth of vthe English Rules of Racing states that no race under Jockey Club rules shall be run earlier than in the week which includes March 25 unless that be the ono next before Kastor Sunday in which case races may be run in the preceding week In accordance with these terms tho English racing season began on March 14 the privilege of holding tins first meeting falling as usual to Lincoln It is a priv ¬ ilege that is thus conferred With the exception of one race the Lincolnshire Handicap the pro ¬ gram is a poor affair but the public who have seen no racing on the flat for four months are keen to get in touch with it once more and are not therefore hypercriticalLincoln disposed to be hypercritical Lincoln is about 130 miles north of London and perhaps twentyfive miles from the sea coast At this period of the year it is apt to be a bleak place The race course lies on an area of flat land known as the Caroline at the foot of a ridge which cuts through the City of Lincoln The beau ¬ tiful cathedral with its noble towers stands on top of the ridge and so can be seen a long distance off It often happens in March that the east wind comes tearing over the ridge and across the Car holme to freeze the marrow of the crowds that assemble to hail the return of racing But the people turn up year after year regardless of all discomfort The lure of the turf is as strong as ever notwithstanding the fact that it is a vastly more expensive pastime to follow than in the pre war days when the railway companies provided trains run at specially cheap fares to race meet ¬ ings People could stay in Leeds for the Lincoln meeting journeying thither and back each day alxmt fortyfive miles each way and only pay about a dollar for a firstclass return ticket Today a similar ticket would probably cost 0 The cost of everything associated with racing has gone up and yet the crowds are greater than ever they were As the present season progresses the attendance will grow smaller for there are hundreds of thousands of men out of work who a year ago Avere earning high wages and so had funds they could well afford to spend on gratifying desires for pleasure But the love of sport espe ¬ cially of horse racing is so ingrained in the nature of the British working man that if lie has the wherewithal to take him to a race meeting he will certainly go goRACING RACING AT LINCOLN FOR 300 YEARS YEARSThere There has been racing at Lincoln for more than 300 years A meeting was organized there in the spring of 1017 for the benefit of King James I the father of the two Charleses who were botli keen patrons of the turf turfThe The races King James witnessed were run on a course situated to the south of Lincoln whereas the Carholme which has been used as long as anybody living can remember is on the north side of the town With regard to King James visit it is recorded that His Majesty stood on a scaffold which the city had caused to be set up There is however a document in existence which shows that the cost of erecting the royal stand had to ho borne by the king himself It was thought worthy of note to record that for that memorable occasion tho last two furlongs of the race course were railed and corded with ropes on both sides so that the people were kept out and the horses that ran were seen fair fairIt It is a far cry to those days of improvisation but the Lincoln race course even of today is rather ratherantiquated antiquated Some of the acco odalions have been beenmodernized modernized but alongside are antediluvian struc ¬ tures probably a century old The course is how ¬ ever only used seven days each year so there is not much inducement to the management to lay money out on costly improvements This is one great drawback lo racing in England There are Jar too many race courses If there were fewer they would be more frequently used and it would become worth while to equip and keep them on thoroughly uptodate lines linesThe The Lincolnshire Handicap which was decided March Hi Is a race which dates back to lh year 1S53 At the outset it was called the Lincoln Spring Handicap It was then a small affair a sweepstakes of 50 each half forfeit A paltry 250 wan added Moreover the owner of the win ¬ ner was called upon to contribute 50 toward the expenses of the meet ing There were nine starters in 1853 and the value of the stakes to the winner was 810 The race was won that year by an aged horse called Caurire who later in the season was sent to France FranceEARLY EARLY LINCOLNSHIRES OF SMALL VALUE VALUEFor For the first twelve years the Lincoln Spring Handicap was run over a mile and a half In 1855 the winner was the threeyearold Saucebox which had only three opponents and started an even money favorite The following September Saucebox won the St Legcr at Doncaster He is the only classic horse which lias won the Lincolnshire Handicap That brilliant marc Sceptre however was beaten a head only in 1002 the year she won the Two Thousand and One Thousand Guineas the Oaks and the St Leger The daughter of Persimmon and Ornament was not thoroughly trained when she ran at Lincoln or sjie would most certainly have won quite easily and have placed a small fortune in the pockets of her then owner Robert Sievier As it was St Maclou caught Jier on the post and won by a head Sceptres defeat served to emphasize the idea that threeyearolds cannot be expected to win the Lincolnshire Handicap in March no mat ¬ ter handicappedTrue how leniently they are handicapped True no threeyearold has won the race since 1803 when Barcaldines son Wolfs Crag was suc ¬ cessful but the fact is that during all the inter ¬ vening years few threeyearolds have been given an opportunity of winning and with the exception of Sceptre which when half fit all but scored a victory they have been second and third rate horses The real truth is that if a horse is engaged in the classic races it does not pay to prepare him so soon for a severe ordeal like the Lincolnshire Handicap If our trainers would put forward that excuse instead of pretending that a threeyearold has no chance there would be no more to be said In 1802 the year before Wolfs Crag won the first and second horses were both threeyearolds the winner being Clarence There was only one other threeyearolds in the field that year yearThen Then again mares have rarely won the Lincoln ¬ shire Handicap The last to do so was Little Eva who curried off the prize in 1001 But the idea that mares possess but a slender chance of win ¬ ning the Lincolnshire is as strongly rooted as the prejudice against threeyearolds and few have been entered for the race in recent years yearsBOOKMAKERS BOOKMAKERS CAUSE VALUE INCREASE INCREASEIn In 1805 the distance of the Lincolnshire was re ¬ duced to a mile and ever since it has been decided over a straight eight furlongs of practically level ground though there are slight undulations By the year 1873 the Lincolnshire had become a sweep ¬ stakes of 75 each 50 forfeit with 2 00 added It was then worth 5325 to the winner and there were 100 entries In 1874 the sweepstakes was increased to 100 and 5000 was added This change Was due to some of the leading bookmakers bookmakersHow How it came about is told by the late George Hoilgmaii in his wonderfully interesting Iniok Sixty Years on the Turf While the Lincoln spring mtoling of 1873 was in progress another bookmaker Harry Steel approached llodgman and asked whether In did not think that I ho added money nhimld be increased to 500 seeing that the value of other handicaps was being increased YeSi said Hodgman but where is the extra 2500 coming fromV We will get it out of the ring replied Steel Two or three members of tlie ring quickly collected the mcmcy uud liuuileil it to the clerk of the course So 5000 was added to the race the following year The event at once gained an added importance and the meet ¬ ing of 1874 was so successful that the clerk of the couise when thanking those who had subscribed the 2500 for their liberality told them that the executive would in future be able to find the addi ¬ tional money There were 150 entries and thirty rive starters for the race in 1874 and the value to the winner was 9 50 Only once has there been more runners in 1881 when the number was thirtysix Ever since 1874 the Lincolnshire lias been a highly popular handicap largely because it is the first big race of the year Entries are received at the beginning of January the weights arc published at tho end of that month and so for six or seven weeks the public iniiku it a frequent topic of discussion As a medium for antepost betting it possesses a strong attraction Hence the intense interest with which the result is awaited all over the kingdom kingdomOnly Only once has the race produced a dead heat in 1S71 when Vulcan and Veranda could not be separated And only om horse has ever won the Lincolnshire twice Tlu distinction belongs to the French horse Ob who was successful in 1000 and 1M 7 The first yea ho carried 112 pounds and iitarlcd at 20 to 1 the second year his weight was 122 pounds and odds of 25 to 1 were laid against him The longest priced winners were Ohtron and Veracity successful in 1SS7 and 1888 Botlr were 50 to 1 chances The Lincolnshire is u race rarely ww by tlnj favorite
