THE RACE FOR "THE DERBY.

(From the Times )

On the Derby Day the inveterate racing or betting men are a small minority at Epsom. Probably 19 out of 20 people on the Course know very little about the horses, and care very little which of thsm wins- But in " the ring" the betting-man has his little world, and there is supreme. The first race is run, nobody paying much attention to it. But when, very soon afterwards, the bell rimrs for the .ireat event, the air becomes vocal with offers to lay against everything in the race, to lay against particular borsea in the race, to lay on the field, to accommodate you in any conceivable way with the odds then current. Men with queer hats and neckerchiefs of glaring colours bellow out invitations of this kind till they nearly deafen you. Some have their names and addresses printed in gold letters upon their hatbands as a guarantee of substance and good faith. Others, perhaps ! better known, roam about, betting book in hand, without any such means of identification. All invite you to deposit with them sums varying from L 5 upwards, on the assurance that, if the horse you fancy wins, they will repay you the odds which they offer. They seemed yesterday to fight shy of Lord Lyon, but they were never tired of " pelting" Rustic and Redan. " I'U lay five to one, bar one." " I'll bet against Blue Riband." " I'll lay against Vespasian, " pronounced Vespassion. •' What horse do you want to back, Sir ?" "Is there any horse you fancy, Sir ?" These were some of the endless cries one heard, in every variety of tone and of accent, cockney and provincial — the accent which breathed of the more or less sweet south, and that which unmistakeably disclosed the hardy speculator from the West Riding.

Above all this hubbub rises the great roar of the crowd outside the ring. And to all save absorbed bookmakers this sound, and the spectacle of thousands upon thousands of men clustered upon the hill- side opposite the Grand Stand, or ranged by this time in long dense lines on either side of the course, has in it something almost majestic. After the usual rush to the paddock, where the knowing ones make their last observations and gather materials on which to found their last bets, the excitement increases. -Lord Lyon is the first to show in the course, The favorite seems in perfect condition, and "He do3en't run; he flies," is the criticism passed upon his trial canter by one of his admirers. To the uninstructed eye the same favorable criticism might be passed upon other horses which gallop past, full of fire, and hardly seeming to touch the ground. They are soon gathered in a cluster at the starting- place, but much time is spent, and six or seven false starts are made before they get fairly off. Then the whole six-and-twenty toil up the hill, and only practised eyes with good glasses to help them can tell how the race is going. The few who can distinguish color' at this distance proclaim aloud that Blue Riband is leading; that the favorite has now deposed him ; that Rustic is iv waiting not to be shaken off; and that Knight of the Crescent, Redan and the Bribery colt are well to the front. Then the horses are seen emerging into the straight run home, and glasses are put aside, for now most people who hope to see anything can see for themselves. A3 the rush comes nearer, and the clatter of hoofs begins to be heard, a horse with unfamiliar colors is seen where the favorite had been and ought to be. A cry is raised, " Bribery colt wins, by Jove !" And amid the feverish excitement that now prevails it certainly looks as if the " dark" horse is to carry off the great prize of the turf. But now the jockey with the black jacket and scarlet cap is seen making his effort, and gaining gradually upon the horse which alone remains between him and victory. " His Lordship is too late," several voices cry, and so really he appears to be. The colt has plenty of running still in him, but Lord Lyon has more, and, drawing up head to head with hig dangerous rival, as the two pass the centre of the Grand Stand, is in the next breath hailed the winner by a short head. Rustic, a big showy horse, from which one would have expected better things, comes in a bad third ; Knight of the Crescent a good fourth.

There was less excitement than usual at the close of the race, for the victory of outsiders is more of a surprise than the victory of favorites, which comes pretty much as a foregone conclusion. Mr Sutton received with entire equanimity the congratulations offered to him. Coolness, indeed, is the characteristic of the veteran turfite, who wins or loses with equal imperturbability. The value of the stakes was L 7550. According to Benson's " Chronograph" the race was rather a slow one. It occupied 2 mm. 49 sec, while that of last year was run in 2 mm. 45£ sec. ; and that of 1864 (Blair Athol's year) in 2 mm 43 J sees.

The following is a detailed description of the race :—

, Tue 87thtFl2tBY Stakes of 50 soys each, h. ft, for 3 yr-olds ; colts, Bst 10lb, and fillies Bst slb; the second horse received 100 soya out of the Btake3. Mile and a half. 274 subs. Mr R Sutton'3 b c Lord Lyon by Stockwell (Custance) 1 Lord Ailesbury's eh c Brothf-r to St Albani (T French) 2 Duk<* of Beaufort's eh c Rustic ...(Canon) 3 Mr Bowes b c We d twick (Ashmall) 0 Mr W C Brown's br c Harefield (Ni?htingall) 0 Mr RickaHs'3 br c. Knapsack . .(Deacon) 0 Lord Sd Vincent's b c Redan (H Gnmslmw) 0 Marquis of Hastinga's b c Blue Riband... (Copley) 0 Count F do Lagrange's b c Plu'.us (Parry) 0 Lord Exeter's b c Krrght of the Crescent (J Adams) 0 Lord Stamford' 3eh c Freedom (A. Edwards) 0 Mr T. Dawson's br c Sfcabber (Morri*).. 0 Barun Rothschild's be Janitor (Wells) 0 Baron Rothschild's b c Robin Hood (J. Daley) 0 Mr W.Hanks'schc Hidalcro (Carroll) 0 Piince Soltykoff's br c Duke of York (J. Mann) 0 Mr Chaplin's b c Vespasian (J. Grimshaw) 0 Mr Watt's gr c Strathconan (J. Snowden) 0 Mr Biarby's eh c Abera;eldie (J. Goater)... 0 Mr E. C. Naylor's eh c Monarcn of the Glen (T. Chaloner) 0 Mr Savile's br c Tfte Corsair (Loates) 0 Mr G. Bryan's eh c Lantret (Lynch) 0 Mr Savile's b c SeaNkin (Doyle) 0Lord Glasgow's b c Toxophilite, dam by Game Boy— Physalis (J. Osborne) 0 Mr Lincoln's b c Tacitus. .....(Maidment) 0 Mr M'Kenzie's The Czar (Cameron) 0

The customary interval of an hcur appointed for the accommodation of those holding paddock tickets for the inspection' of the six-and-twenty competitors bavin" elapsed, the bell rang for clearing the course. This was scarcely done when Lord Lyon, Monarch of the Glen, and Hidalgo were seen threading their way through the crowd from Tattenham corner, the trio having performed their toilet at the Warren stables. The favorite was, of course, the centre of attraction, and as he reached the stand in charge of his owner the confidence of his partisans was considerably increased by Mr Sutton raising his umbrella above his head in answer to their repeated olaudits. Scarcely had this little episode subsided than the remainder of the field made their appearance, headed by Strathconan, Rustic, and Blue Riband, who, having taken their preliminary canters, returned to the enclosure and then joined Mr M'Geor^e. As usual, they missed the firs'; and most favorable opportunity of getting away, through Tacitus jumping round the contrary way, and in consequence nearly half an hour was consumed before a satisfactory start was accomplished. Soon after the color 9 cf Freedom, wide on the right of the moving cavalcade, were seen in advance,, in whose wake were seen Stabber, Robin Hood, Blue Riband, Knight of the Crescent, Redan, and the Bribery colt inclose company; a length or so on their left came Toxophilite co!t, with West wick, Janitor, Vtspasian^and Abergeldie forming the next division, in the rear of whom were observed Tacitus, Harefield, Laneret, and The Czar, the latter being left at the post. As they entered "the furzes"' by the mile and quarter post, Blue Riband rushed to the front, and, heading Freedom, who immediately disappeared from the van, came on with the running at an improved pace, evidently to serve hid stable companion, Robin Hood holding the second honor, closely attended as they fairly rounded the turn into the old course. Here Lord Lyon was seen gradually moving to the front, and when fairly on the hill iie ran up to the quarters of the Baron's secoud string, attended with the most jealous solicitude by his most dangerous opponent Rustic. To these succeeded Knight of the Crescent, Redan, the_ Bribery colt, Strathconan, Vespasian, Janitor, and Lord Glasgow's colt, who followed the leaders in a body rouni the turn into the straight, At thiscritical point the shouts from the Stand announced the defeat of Blue Riband and Robin Hood, who before the road was reached had disappeared from the front, leaving the fivorite in the centre of the course, with a slight lead of Redan, but the latter dying away to nothing in the next few strides, the pair gave way to the Bribery colt, who came up full of running on the lower ground, and taking a clear lead as they came on appeared to have the two favorites beaten at the distance. Half way up, however, Custance, who had, having ridden with great patience, disposed of the Danebury favorite, gradually drew upon the leader, whom he caught in the centre of the stand, and, coming with onerun, landed the popular colour of Mr Sutton in the last stride by a head. There were three lengths between the second and third, Lord Exeter's colt finishing a head in the rear of Rustic, janitor was fifth, Strathconau six, Vespasian seventh, and Blue Riband next. Then came, nearly in a line, Redan, Monarch of the Glen, Westwick, and Robin Hood, who headed a lot of pulling- up horses,