It was the Duke of Cumberland, William, uncle to George III., who
instituted the Ascot Meeting, more than a century and a half ago. The
first reliable notice of racing at this Royal seat of sport gives 1727
as the year of commencement, when two prizes were contended for, the
larger being of the value of forty guineas, the other ten guineas less
than that sum. In the following year one race also of the value of
forty-two pounds took place. For some years afterwards the racing at
Ascot was of an intermittent sort, as no sport took place in the years
1729, 1731-4, nor yet in the years 1737-8, nor in 1740-3. A Yeoman
Pricker's Plate of £50, for hunters only, was instituted in 1744, and,
twenty-five years later, namely, in 1769, the Members and Corporation
of Windsor each subscribed £50 to be raced for. The Duke took immense
interest in the sport at Ascot, which, in its earlier days, was of a
somewhat primitive kind, as were the surroundings vastly different in
every way from what they are to-day.
"A memory has been kept up" of some races contested on the Royal
ground, more particularly of one race, the Oatlands Stakes, run on the
28th of June, 1791, when it was said a hundred thousand pounds changed
hands. The victorious horse on the occasion was the Prince of Wales's
Baronet, which won the race from eighteen competitors. There were
forty-one subscribers of a hundred guineas each, half forfeit, and the
value of the stakes to the owner of the winning horse was 2,950 gs. The
race is said to have been witnessed by about 40,000 persons; but order
was so badly maintained that the venue of the race was shifted in the
next year to Newmarket, where the Oatlands Stakes was run for in April,
the money value involved being 3,725 gs., a large sum for those days.
During the close of the last century, Ascot races enjoyed immense
popularity; they lasted for a week, and afforded a fund of amusement
to all who witnessed them. They were beloved of the King--"the good
old King George III."--who, for a number of years, never missed being
present. He was, at any rate, never absent when the hundred guineas
was run for, which he gave for horses that had been out with the
stag-hounds.
The gambling pure and simple which, for a long series of years, was a
leading feature of the Ascot festival, is not now tolerated, although
unlimited betting is permitted. There were E. O. tables by the score,
the owners of which were made to subscribe a hundred guineas for the
benefit of the racing fund. These tables were established in tents and
marquees, where all were suited who pleased to try their fortune; even
those who gambled with pence were made welcome. In these "Royal old
days," Ascot, in the way of the times, was quite as fashionable as it
is to-day. Every house and cottage within two miles of the course was
occupied either by pleasure-seekers, or persons who had business to
transact in connection with the horse-races. The rents charged were
exorbitant; the persons who could give accommodation having learned
to make hay while the sun was shining. But sport was good, and the
surroundings were exciting. A feature of the scene, which has long
since been dispensed with, was the hundreds of booths erected for
the accommodation of visitors. Some of these canvas houses were most
commodious, and were used both for dining and sleeping in. The King and
Queen and "the first gentleman of Europe" used to pass along the lines
of the booths.
"Royal Ascot" is richly endowed with racing prizes, and it is
gratifying to know that, although the sum of added money is very
large, the meeting is not only self-supporting, but profitable. It
is but fair to give much of the credit of the success of the Ascot
meetings of recent years to Lord Hardwicke, who, when he officiated as
Master of the Buckhounds, did all he could to add to the attractiveness
of a meeting which had long been celebrated as providing one of the
most fashionable gatherings of London society. Ascot, which has been a
seat of racing for so long a period, has seen several generations of
sportsmen come and go; but to-day it is more gay and brilliant; more
attractive to fine ladies and gay cavaliers than it ever was before.
Princes and Princesses continue to give it their patronage, and the
most celebrated horses of the kingdom compete on its green turf for the
liberal prizes with which the meeting has been endowed.
It is not so easy as it may appear to compile an exact history of any
racecourse. As regards Ascot, one writer tells us that the racecourse,
or, as he calls it, the "Manor of Ascot," is private property,
whilst another authority distinctly states that it is "the property
of the Crown," and that, in consequence, no rent is exacted for the
racecourse. Fees of all kinds, however, are taken in the various
enclosures, and, as a matter of course, admission to the grand stand
and paddock has to be paid for as at other meetings; but as much of the
money taken is given to be raced for, the charges may be tolerated.
The accommodation now provided for the public at Ascot is something
like what it should be; although it still might be improved, it is
wonderfully good when compared with what it was half a century since.
The first stand erected at Ascot for the accommodation of the public
was built by, or at the cost of, a Mr. Slingsby, one of the Royal
tradesmen of the period, a master bricklayer, who was a favourite with
His Majesty "King George III. of blessed memory." This stand, which was
a substantial structure, capable of affording a view of the races to
about 650 persons, was in use till about the year 1840. Two or three
years before that date, a movement for the erection of a larger and
more convenient structure took place, and resulted in the formation
of a company with a capital of £10,000, subscribed in hundred-pound
shares. The money, after considerable difficulty, having been found,
the chief corner-stone of the building was laid in its place by the
Earl of Errol, on the 16th of January, 1839, and the occasion of the
opening of the stand was signalised by the presence of Her Majesty, who
sent for the jockey who rode the winner of the Ascot Stakes, a boy of
the name of Bell, and after complimenting him on his skill and judgment
as a rider, kindly presented him with a ten-pound note. The excellent
riding of this tiny jockey excited an immense amount of admiration,
the boy being almost a mere child, and only weighing fifty-six lbs.
When before the Queen, upon being asked his weight by Her Majesty, he
replied, much to the amusement of the Royal suite: "Please, ma'am,
master says as how I must never tell my weight."
The constitution of the new stand company provided for the application
of the profits realised in the following fashion: To begin with a
dividend of five per cent. to be paid to the shareholders, but
curiously enough, according to the constitution of the company, this
dividend fell to be paid before the wages of the stand servants! When
the dividend, the check-takers and other servants had been paid, a
sum of £500 was then to be allotted for the redemption of five of the
shares, selected by ballot out of the total number. Of the money which
might be left after that had been done, two-thirds was ordained to be
applied to the enrichment of the race fund, and one-third to be divided
among the shares, by way of a bonus, so that, in the course of twenty
years, the stand would become altogether the property of the racing
fund. This, as it may be called, Tontine plan of dealing with the
shares of the Ascot Grand Stand proved, in a sense, a little gold mine
for the shareholders who were so fortunate as not to be balloted out of
the concern, which, from the first, was exceedingly remunerative.
In the very first year, the substantial benefit accrued of £700, whilst
a bonus of eight and a half per cent. was paid to the shareholders. As
in each year the number of participating shares became reduced, the
dividend, of course, was correspondingly increased in amount, the final
dividend on the last five shares having been the handsome one of £175.
It should be stated here, that whilst all the profits of the stand and
paddock were absorbed by the company for division in the mode which
has been stated, the Master of the Buckhounds drew money from those
"betting" on the course, for booths, also for stands for carriages.
The sum taken in the first two or three years was moderate enough,
but from £300 taken in the first year, it had increased in the third
racing season to £1,500, and the money received from these sources of
income is annually increasing. About £15,000 were expended a few years
ago in improving and adding to the accommodation provided by the grand
stand, every department of which is now regulated by the Master of the
Buckhounds; and as the renewed lease obtained from the Crown has still
over forty years to run, it is probable that additional improvements
will be entered upon.
The Ascot Meeting is the next great event in the turf world to the
Epsom Summer Carnival. How rich and varied the stakes are which are now
run on the Royal heath, has been indicated. The various courses are
in fine condition; and the attendance at the meeting, which lasts for
four days, and with which no racing fixture is allowed to clash, is, in
fine weather, enormous; and, although it appears to be impossible to
eliminate the welshing element, Ascot is kept tolerably free as yet,
notwithstanding its proximity to London, from the rowdy element.
During the lifetime of Prince Albert, Her Majesty frequently patronised
the meeting, riding up the course with a numerous suite in what was
called "Ascot State." The Prince and Princess of Wales now take Her
Majesty's place in this ceremonial, and as they come upon the scene
receive a most cordial welcome from the assembled thousands. The
fashionable day _par excellence_ is "the Cup day," a day on which
the upper ten assemble on the Royal heath in their greatest numbers,
"the ladies ablaze with dresses of gorgeous hues, tempered with
trimmings of taste." This racing trophy--the Cup--which many owners
of race-horses would rather win than any other race however richly it
might be endowed, was founded, in 1771, by the Duke of Cumberland, the
subscription being limited to 5 gs. each.