Sporting and Athletic Records

HORSE RECORDS I.—RUNNING II.—TROTTING III.—PACING IV.—LONG DISTANCE RIDING V.—RELAY RIDING VI.—JUMPING N.B.—For English. Racing Records, -winning jockeys, winning owners, &c., &c., facts connected with horse-racing in England see under T HE T URF. The following Records are nearly all American. In England nobody takes any interest in the time in which a race is run; consequently, although one or two races, such as the Derby and St. Leger, are duly timed, there cannot be said to be any attempt made in England as in America to arrive at the best speed of which the horse is capable. With regard to trotting and pacing, such few English Records as exist compare unfavourably—except as regards long distances—with perform­ ances in America, the home of the trotter and the pacer. It may be as well to explain that pacing differs from trotting in that the horse moves both off legs first and then both near legs, or vice versa, instead of alternating an off leg and a near leg as in trotting. At this lateral gait the best times are in advance of the trotting times, though far behind the best running times. 171