There are not less, so it has been computed--counting mere foals,
yearlings, two, three, four, and five-year-olds, as well as sires and
dams--than 10,000 horses devoted to the service of the turf. The brood
mares at the stud number, on an average, 3,000, and the number of sires
may be estimated at say 350; the net produce of the stud, deducting
casualties of many kinds, such as barren mares, slipped foals,
deaths, and exportation, may be taken as being 2,000 foals--colts and
fillies--per annum. Of that number a considerable percentage never
comes upon the racing scene; unfitness for the work of the turf,
accidents, and death, being constant factors in determining the L.
S. D. of racing. It would be curious to trace the many calamities
that occur to prevent horses distinguishing themselves. Two hundred
horses may be entered as yearlings for the Derby, but only about five
per cent. of the number may contest a given race. Say that there are
fourteen or even sixteen runners; what has become of the others?
Several will have died; many after being trained will be found to have
no chance; and not unlikely several of those entered may be found
in the shafts of a cab. Some foals of last year, for instance, may
ultimately be trained as horses for ladies; others may be drafted to
the hunting-field or to the circus, whilst not a few may ultimately
find their way to tramway stables. Many a time and oft has a high-bred
horse changed hands for a twenty-pound note.
In forming an estimate of the value of the racing stock of the period,
the price paid for the yearlings which change hands at the public
sales must first of all be noted. In 1889, according to "Ruff," 851
of these baby horses were purchased at prices varying from 4,000 gs.
to 8 gs. During the last twenty years large numbers of yearlings have
changed hands at big prices, one, two, and three thousand guineas
being often paid in the course of a sale for animals that purchasers
fancy, colts or fillies, that look as if they would, when properly
trained, "make race-horses," and probably in time reward their owners
by winning a few of the great prizes of the turf. Other horses,
mature animals, ready-made racers, that is to say, or those suited
for breeding, occasionally fetch very high prices; but it is possible
for illustrative purposes to strike an average as between those which
sell for thousands and those which only bring tens. It should not be
an over estimate to fix upon a sum of £300 each as being the value of
the 10,000 animals of all ages, from colts to matrons of mature years,
which would represent a total sum of £3,000,000, the interest on which,
calculated at the rate of five per cent., would amount to £150,000 per
annum.
There then comes the question of the annual expenditure incurred in
keeping up the various racing studs of the country. The board and
lodging of a race-horse varies, according to the stable in which he
is kept and the status of the trainer, from two pounds or two guineas
a week to a half more than that. Of horses told off for breeding
purposes, no note need be taken, as breeding is a business that is
at least self-supporting, and sometimes, as in the case of Hermit,
immensely profitable; nor shall foals be considered. It will be about
correct to consider half of the 10,000 as being in racing trim,
horses ranging from two years of age to six, and 5,000 at £156 per
annum for board and lodging--including various extras, in some of the
stables--represents a total sum of £780,000.
In addition to the amount paid for board and lodging, the expenses
attendant on the entering of a race-horse for the different events
in which its owner may desire to see it run, are very heavy. These
vary exceedingly. Some proprietors are in the habit of entering their
animals in from half-a-dozen to twenty races, the forfeits in which
for non-runners range from perhaps five to twenty-five pounds. It
is not an easy matter to fix upon a figure that may be taken fairly
as representative of these forfeits; but if ten pounds per horse be
fixed upon for the whole 5,000, it will be much within, certainly not
over the mark. A sum of £50,000 would thus be added to the account of
outlays.
The travelling expenses of trainers and stable attendants when in
charge of horses, and the fees paid to the boys who ride them, form an
important item in the cost of a racing stud. Many horses in the course
of a season will be taken to eight or ten meetings, some of which are
situated a few hundred miles from the training quarters of the horses.
The only mode by which an illustrative sum can be arrived at, is by
adopting an average; some horses will cost over a hundred pounds a year
for railway travelling and other expenses, including the fees paid to
the jockeys who ride them in their races, and if a sum of £25 per annum
be placed against each of the 5,000 horses assumed to be taking, at
present, an active part in the sport of kings, in name of travelling
and miscellaneous expenses, it gives a total of £125,000.
A recapitulation of these figures gives the following result:
Interest on capital sunk in race-horses £150,000
Cost of keeping horses 780,000
Amounts paid in entries and forfeits 50,000
Travelling and other expenses 125,000
----------
Making a grand total of £1,105,000
It becomes apparent, then, that the sum of £1,105,000 ought to be
obtained every year in stakes, to recoup gentlemen and others engaged
in the pastime of horse-racing for the outlays they make. But no such
sum has ever been realised, and, in consequence, gambling has to be
resorted to to provide the difference; hence that extensive betting,
which is the most remarkable feature of the turf. The preceding
figures are given with the view of illustrating the proposition that
horse-racing, except in rare cases, cannot be made to pay. It happens
every season, that one or two owners are so fortunate as to win from
£10,000 to £20,000 in stakes--they may even experience a run of good
fortune during three or four consecutive years, and, after all, the
game may not have paid them, or done more than make ends meet. No
matter the good fortune that may attend individuals, it is, as has
been demonstrated, an undoubted fact that the cost of racing in any one
year is far beyond the total amount which can be won.
The foregoing facts and figures must not be taken for more than they
are worth, they are simply offered as being more or less illustrative
of the L. S. D. of horse-racing, and the simplest methods of
illustration have been resorted to. Columns of figures on the subject
might have been given for the inspection of the reader; but probably
the mode adopted will give a better idea of the L. S. D. of the turf
(betting excepted), and the facts briefly stated may make a more
lasting impression than a more formal statement would do.
What must be kept well in mind in connection with racing finance, is
the great fact that the money expended is not hid away in a napkin, but
is circulated. Stables and stores have to be built or extended, hay and
corn has to be provided for the horses, the lads who groom them and
ride them at exercise have to be paid, so have the fees of the jockeys
who ride them; travelling expenses of horses, trainers, and jockeys
help to swell railway receipts, and to augment the dividends of not
a few who look with horror on the turf and the ways of life of those
connected with it.
It has been calculated, for instance, that no less than £120,000
will be expended on the Derby Day by visitors to London and Epsom in
travelling and personal expenses (_i.e._, eating and drinking), and
there are at least 250 days in every year on which large sums are
spent in the same direction. Travelling, hotel expenses, and entrance
to race grounds soon take the corners off a ten-pound note, and there
are thousands at that kind of work nearly all the year round. It has
also been "calculated" that, in all probability, ten thousand persons
are employed in various capacities in direct connection with racing,
in stables, on stud farms, etc.; and if men and boys be set down as
earning over-head, including board and lodging, £1 a week all the year
round, the sum so expended will exceed half a million sterling.