ENGLISH SPORTS AND PASTIMES.

»« Weekly Press and Referee."

(By Verax.) Lovdo.v, October 11. This is an age of big stakes, and sums of £10,000 and £.">OOO arc often run for, and handicaps of £1000 are quite common. These mammoth stakes, however, have not injured the big classical races or the oldfashioned handicaps. At Kempton Park, last Friday and Saturday, on each day there was a race of £5000. The Duke of York Stakes is a handicap of SOOOsovs, and yet it is not nearly so popular with racing men as the Ceaafewitch Stakes, decided on Wednesday, of COOsovs. Ido not think these big stakes have improved racing. For one thing they are generally run over short distancea in order to seenre a big entry. The fields, as a rule, are small, and in many cases the result lies between two or three hotses. The Duke of York Stakes is the richest handkap of the year and, being a handicap, it naturally attracts a greater number of -starter:* than the race with special conditions attached. 1 wft- present at Kempton and it is an exceedingly pleasant course. The weather, however, was anything but favourable. The change from great heat to cold and damp has been sudden, and at Kempton it was more like the middle of November than early October. Kempton is always well patronised, and the Prince of Wales was present each day. On Friday the principal event was the Imperial Produce Stakes, of .-"OOOsovs, for two-year-olds. There were fifteen runners, and of this lot Mr L. de Rothschild's* St. Frusquin, who carried the thumping weight of 9at 101b, was made favourite despite the heavy going. St. Frusquin is a fine bay colt by St. Simon—lsabel, and he has shown re : markably good form this season. 13 to 8 was accepted about St. Frusquin ; then came Rugby Cement at 7 to 2, Teufel at 100 to 15, and Barn Dance at 100 to 7. It was a good race and, had the going been better, the favourite might have won. At the distance Rugby Cement was beaten, and St. Frusquin, Teufel and the Abeyance filly were fighting it out. Tho top weight made a gallant effort, but Teufel managed to beat him by half a length, with the Abeyance filly third. The winner is owned by Mr Straus and is a brown colt by Despair—Clootie, and is trained by Mr Stevens. Ho earned 83t 12lb, or 121b less than St. Frusquin. Mr Hamar Bass owns the chestnut lilly by Marden out of Abeyance that iinished third. Barn Dance ran a fair fourth. At all the race meetings there are generally plenty of selling races. At Kempton there were two selling races on Friday, and on Saturday thv6P out of the six events were selling races. There is heavy gambling over these races and some smart bidding for the winner. The Richmond Stakes on Friday at Kempton was won by Lord Derby's Newby, who beat a warm favourite in Tadov. Bradford rode the favourite and ought to have won on him. Col. North's Leominster won the Twickenham Selling Plate and was bought in for 500gs. The race was worth £147 and the winner was to be sold for 20030VR.

The rain came down heavily all the afternoon on Saturday, but this did not prevent a large crowd from being present to see the Dnke of York Stakes run for. The betting on this event had not been brisk, and coming just before the Ceaarewitch does not increase its popularity. Col. North's Red Heart was favourite and held that position from the time the weights appeared until the fall of the flag. He went "out at 3to 1, Telescope, who ran second in the St. Leger, being second favourite at double the odds. Bockdove, Wise Virgin, Speed, Euclid, Laodamia and one or two more wero backed. Red Heart is a handsome chestnut horse, but he ought to be called Faint Heart, because, when it came to a finish, he was done. Finlay rode him and the horse had a clear run and everything in his favour. He was hopelessly beaten before the distance was reached and I am not at all surprised Col. North at once struck him out ot the Cambridgeshire. The winner turned up in Missal, a ratik outsider, who made nearly the whole of the running and won comfortably from Count Schomherg and Bockdove. Missal is by Hermit—Dart and had only Cst 91b on his four-year-old back. Chaloner was to have ridden Missal but could not get the weight and Wall Mens put up. '<■ This was a lucky mount for Wall and was his first important win during the season. 20 to 1 could easily have been obtained about the winner and 25 to 1 about Count Sohomberg. The ring had a good time over Missal's win. Telescope ran badly and the three-year-old form, both in the Derby and St. Leger, is wretched in the extreme., Lord Eosebery was lucky to meet a bad lot with a moderate like Sir Visto. Curzon ran nowhere, but Wise Virgin, who is a real beauty, shaped well. This form, it will be seen later on, was well borne out in the Cesarewitch.

The Kempton Park Nursery Handicap, of fiOOsovs, was won by a colt by Galopin—Hall Mark, n useful animal. Finlay had the mount and rode a good race, just beating Col. North's King Hampton on the post. The Colonel's bad luck stuck to him, as in the next raoe, the Vauxhall Selling Plate, his colt Prince Saraband, was just beaten by Mr Tom Cannon's Miss Sybil. Apart from the Duke of York Stakp.3 tbe sport was uninteresting.

Newmarket commenced on Tuesday and again the weather was bad. Racing at Newmarket has altered very much during the past ten or fifteen yeav3, and most people make the journey from town daily and do not remain there for the week, it is a quaint, old-fashioned place, but the many trainers' quarters there are modern and built upon the latest and most expensive scale. On Tuesday the day's racing was wretched. The attendance was poor and the racing of very little interest. The old-fashioned Clearwell Stakes, for two-year-olds, was won by Mr H. E. Beddington's Earwig, by Hampton—Wriggle, who started a hot favourite with slight odds laid on his chance. He bad no difficulty iv winning from Aureus and Daronica. Only two started for the Champion Stakes, and Laveno, the winner of the Jockey Club Stakes, had no difficulty in disposing of Grey Leg. Grey Leg, I ought to mention, broke down and it is doubtful if he will race again. Newby followed up his win at Kempton by taking the Trial Stakes. The Duke of Westminster was compensated for the defeat of Grey Lag by the win of Baddiley in the Royal Stakes. Baddiley is by Sheen out of Farewell, and it was hard lines for Prince Soltykoff's Spur Royal to succumb to a colt by the Prince's .old favourite Sheen.

During the afternoon there was a good deal of betting on the Ceaarewitch. Florij-ell 11. I em- favourite at sto 1. On Wednesday the \ weather"was again dull and cold and the going heavy, which was all against Flomell £T. Before tbe start fpr tbe Cesarewffch, Son o' Mine passed the Prince's horse in the betting and left the paddook at 5 to 1, Florizell 11. being at sevens. The Corsican and Indian Queen were backed at 100 to 12, Roci-dove at' 10 to 1, Opera Glass, Banquet H. and Aboriginie at 100 to 6, Bard of Avon was at 20 to 1 and Count Schomberg at 35 to 1. There waa not much delay at the post and the flag fell to the second attempt, when Aboriginie tried to bolt out of the course and was soon in the rear. Vie went to the front with Banquet 11., Rockdove, Indian Queen, Telescope, Count Schomberg and Son o' Mine j next. Half a mile from home Count Schomberg took up the running from Merrywise, Telescope, Son o' Mine, Rockdove, Bard of i Avon, while Florizell 11. was going well. At the famous Bushes Florizell 11. ran into ! second place to Count Schomberg and there were loud cries of " The Prince wins!" It | was, however, a false alarm, for the weight told and the favourite faltered. Bard of , Avon, Count Schomberg and Rockdove were j now fighting it out. Rockdove swerved badly j under the whip and lost ground. Ward seeing hia mistake dropped his whip and Rockdove ran straight to the finish, getting up in time to beat Bard of Avon, after an exciting finish, ' by half a length, with Count Schomberg a length and a half away third. Then came Florizell H. fourth and Telescope fifth. Rockdove is by Gallinnle—The Sleeping Beauty and carried 6st 101b. Had Bard of Avon not incurred a 101b penalty he must have won. Count Schomberg is sure to run forward in the Cambridgeshire. When I wrote some weeks ago I alluded to the chance's of Ravensbury, Florizell H., Rockdove and Vanguard. Ravensbury and Vanguard did not run, but the other two finished fourth and first. Not so bad that. Rockdove was not heavily backed by the public until after Kempton Park. Florizell 11. ran a real good horse and was certainly not disgraced in the heavy going. He ought to win more races for the Prince, who was present to see him run. The Kennett Plate was won by Grig, the property of Mr L. de Rothschild, and Lady Ailsa won the Second October Nursery for Mr L. Brassey, Colonel North being aeeond with Fits Galopin.

On Thursday the racing was of very little interest, only minor events being contested, and to-day the Middle Park Plate will be run, but too late for mc to make mention of it in this letter, as I shall be at the scene of action.

I alluded to selling races in an early part of this letter. To show how they are made the medium for gambling, I have only to instance the Selling Plato, of 'JOOsovs. at Newmarket on Wednesday. C. llibbert, the Nottingham bookmaker, won the race with Sweet Anne Page, entered to be sold for £100. It cost 810gs to buy her in, so that the actual amount given to buy the mare in was £550 10s, a tidy sum to win in bets, as the mare started at 13 to S against. Hibbert mnst have had a big gamble on that race. True the mare won in a canter, but it reads very much like buying money.