One of the officials, upon whom in a great measure success depends, although he is often not present at the meeting itself, is the handicapper. At most gatherings nowadays, there are more handicaps than level races; often indeed, especially in London, there are no level races at all. In fact, the ordinary programme for a club meeting near London is something of this kind: a hundred and twenty yards handicap (open), a quarter-mile handicap (open), a mile handicap (open), a three-quarter of a mile steeplechase (open), a two miles walking race (open), a hundred and fifty yards, half a mile, and two miles handicaps (confined to members of the club giving the race). Perhaps also there is a level race at some special distance arranged on purpose to bring two or three 'cracks' together, or perhaps a handicap with a short limit (say a quarter of a mile, with a limit of 25 yards from the best runner of the day), this last race being designed to produce a field where there are no 'platers,' but only good class runners. As meetings of this description take place by scores in every part of the country, it is obvious that none but trained handicappers, who regularly study the art, can be trusted to bring the men together.

Before competitors became so numerous, handicappers could be found to do the work without reward, but first one and then another of the well-known handicappers began to demand payment for their services, and at the present day at least a score of men in one or another part of the kingdom are making a comfortable addition to their income by the exercise of their talents in this direction.1 The system in shorter races is to handicap by giving so many yards start, but in the longer races, whether of walking or running, the competitors often have so many seconds start of the scratch man allotted to them. A novelty in the way of handicapping was introduced in a cross-country race by the Thames Hare and Hounds Club some years ago, the runners all starting together, but being handicapped, in horse-racing style, by the apportionment of different amounts of weight, each runner being allowed to carry his weight in any way he chose. The novelty, however, was hardly a success, the runners who were heavily weighted (the top weight carried, we believe, 28 lbs.) making most ungainly efforts, and the result would seem to show that man, as a running animal, is not able to carry anything more than his own weight with ease and elegance.

We do not anticipate any change, therefore, in the old and received system of handicapping for man-racing.

The advantages of giving up a club meeting to the handicap-runners have been much questioned, and there can be little doubt that the rapid increase of handicaps was a necessary step towards the popularisation of athletic sports with the runners themselves. To make all open races level no doubt not only encouraged 'pot-hunting,' but prevented those who were not really first class from taking part in races at all, as they would naturally object to form part of a procession at every meeting. Undoubtedly, also, there are many 'cracks' who were first encouraged to come upon the path by handicap prizes, and who have gone gradually down in the handicap scale until they have found themselves good enough to compete in level races or championships. The club treasurer, too, often feels that he cannot do without the handicaps, for while a level sprint might only produce four entries, i.e. four half-crowns, a sprint handicap might well produce eighty entries, i.e. eighty half-crowns, and there is a vast deal of difference between ten shillings and ten pounds of entrance fees.

In the days, too, when there was something of a novelty and a pleasing surprise for any man to find himself a runner at all, the friends, sisters, cousins, and aunts of the handicap runners come to see their heroes run, and athletic clubs flourished and waxed rich; while many a cricket, rowing, or football club netted a nice little sum out of its annual sports, which came in as a handy addition to the club's revenues. At the present day there is rather a plethora of athletic meetings, and while the handicaps still draw large entries from competitors, who expect there will be at least three valuable prizes, we have something more than a suspicion that the public has been driven away from attending sports by being bored with a succession of these dreary competitions. In sprint races one heat is very much like another, and, as a rule, the really good runners are unplaced, or give up against the unequal odds; while in a mile race, where there is a cloud of runners, none but the experienced eye can see who is making his way to the front, or really running above his form, and so doing well. The effect of this is that the public is beginning to get tired of the monotony of athletics, and of late years the attendance, of ladies especially, has become less and less frequent.

In London the waning of the popularity of athletic sports with the paying public has been very marked of recent years, much more so than in the provinces, but generally it is admitted with perfect frankness by the promoters of athletic meetings in all large towns that there is 'very little money in athletics now.' At Birmingham there have been very few athletic meetings recently, and in London, Liverpool, Manchester, etc., the clubs are not so flourishing as they were formerly, owing to the falling off of 'gate money.' As we have hinted before, we believe one cause of this decadence is the mistake made by the managing committees of meetings in giving so few level open races. Certainly the big provincial meetings of the North, where there are plenty of level races, and where, even in the handicaps, the 'cracks' are leniently treated and encouraged to enter, command bigger 'gates' and better fields; and even Londoners are at last beginning to learn that one 'crack' will do more to make a success of a meeting than fifty 'crocks.'

1 No handicapper is now allowed to act for an open race unless he holds a license from the A.A.A. varying ability of the man at ' scratch.' There was also this any ether fact into consideration - an opinion upon which we venture to differ with him.