University of Virginia Library

OF THE SELLERS OF RACE CARDS AND
LISTS.

This trade is not carried on in town; but at
the neighbouring races of Epsom and Ascot
Heath, and, though less numerously, at Good-
wood, it is pursued by persons concerned in the
street paper-trade of London.

At Epsom I may state that the race-card sale
is in the hands of two classes (the paper or
sheet-lists sale being carried on by the same
parties) — viz. those who confine themselves
to "working" the races, and those who only
resort to such work occasionally. The first-
mentioned sellers usually live in the country,
and the second in town,

Between these two classes, there is rather a
strong distinction. The country race-card
sellers are not unfrequently "sporting cha-
racters." The town professor of the same
calling feels little interest in the intrigues or
great "events" of the turf. Of the country
traders in this line some act also as touters, or
touts; they are for the most part men, who
having been in some capacity or other, con-
nected with racing or with race-horses, and
having fallen from their position or lost their
employment, resort to the selling of race-cards
as one means of a livelihood, and to touting,
or watching race-horses, and reporting anything
concerning them to those interested, as another
means. These men, I am assured, usually
"make a book" (a record and calculation of
their bets) with grooms, or such gentlemen's
servants, as will bet with them, and sometimes
one with another.

The most notorious of the race-card selling
fraternity is known as Captain Carrot. He is
the successor, I am told, of Gentleman Jerry,
who was killed some time back at Goodwood
races — having been run over. Gentleman Jerry's
attire, twenty-five to thirty-five years ago, was
an exaggeration of what was then accounted a
gentleman's style. He wore a light snuff-
coloured coat, a "washing" waistcoat of any
colour, cloth trowsers, usually the same colour
as his coat, and a white, or yellow white, and
ample cravat of many folds. His successor
wears a military uniform, always with a scarlet
coat, Hessian boots, an old umbrella, and a tin
eye-glass. Upon the card-sellers, however, who
confine their traffic to races, I need not dwell,
but proceed to the metropolitan dealers, who are
often patterers when in town.

It is common, for the smarter traders in
these cards to be liberal of titles, especially to
those whom they address on the race-ground.
"This is the sort of style, sir," said one race-
card-seller to me, "and it tells best with
cockneys from their shops. `Ah, my lord. I
hope your lordship's well. I've backed your
horse, my lord. He'll win, he'll win. Card, my
lord, correct card, only 6d. I'll drink your lord-
ship's health after the race.' Perhaps this here
`my lord,' may be a barber, you see, sir, and
never had so much as a donkey in his life, and
he forks out a bob; but before he can get his
change, there always is somebody or other to
call for a man like me from a little distance,
so I'm forced to run off and cry, `Coming, sir,
coming. Coming, your honour, coming.' "

The mass of these sellers, however, content
themselves with the customary cry: "Here's
Dorling's Correct Card of the Races. — Names,
weights, and colours of the Riders. — Length of
Bridle, and Weight of Saddle."

One intelligent man computed that there were
500 men, women, and children, of all descrip-
tions of street-callings, who on a "Derby day"
left London for Epsom. Another considered
that there could not be fewer than 600, at the
very lowest calculation. Of these, I am in-
formed, the female sellers may number some-
thing short of a twentieth part from London,
while a twelfth of the whole number of regular
street-sellers attending the races vend at the
races cards. But card selling is often a cloak,
for the females — and especially those connected
with men who depend solely on the races — vend
improper publications (usually at 6d.), making
the sale of cards or lists a pretext for the more
profitable traffic.

If a man sell from ten to twelve dozen cards
on the "Derby day," it is accounted "a good
day;" and so is the sale of three-fourths of

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that quantity on the Oaks day. On the other,
or "off" days, 2s. is an average earnig.

The cards are all bought of Mr. Dorling, the
printer, at 2s. 6d. a dozen. The price asked is
always 6d. each. "But those fourpenny bits,"
said one card-seller, "is the ruination of every
thing. And now that they say that the three-
penny bits is coming in more, things will be
wuss and wuss." The lists vary from 1s. 6d. to 2s. 6d. the dozen, according to size. To
clear 10s. and 8s. on the two great days is
accounted "tidy doings," but that is earned
only by those who devote themselves to the
sale of the race-cards, which all the sellers
do not. Some, for instance, are ballad-singers,
who sell cards immediately before a race
comes off, as at that time they could obtain no
auditory for their melodies. Ascot-heath races,
I am told, are rather better for the card seller than
Epsom, as "there's more of the nobs there,"
and fewer of the London vendors of cards. The
sale of the "lists" is less than one-eighth that
of the sale of cards. They are chiefly "return
lists," (lists with a specification of the winning
horses, &c., "returned" as they acquitted
themselves in each race), and are sold in the
evening, or immediately after the conclusion of
the "sport," for the purpose of being posted or
kept.