evenings. Until recently the spectators were mostly male and poor, the
surroundings shabby. The 1980s have changed all this, with the growth of
commercial sponsorship for advertising. There are fewer stadiums and fewer
spectators than in 1970, but the old cloth cap image has become much less
appropriate. But one thing has not changed. The elite of Britain's dogs,
and their trainers, mostly come from Ireland.
INFORMATION:
Famous (horse) race meetings
The Grand National: at Aintree, near Liverpool, in March or April It
is England's main steeplechase (race over fences). The course is over
seven kilometres and includes thirty jumps, of which fourteen are
jumped twice. It is a dangerous race Jockeys have been hurt and horses
have been killed.
The Derby: at Epsom, south of London, in May or June. It is England's
leading flat race (not over fences).
Ascot: near Windsor in June. Very fashionable. The Queen always
attends.
As I have mentioned horse-racing, I think it will be good to draw
attention to racing in hole.
RACING
There are all kinds of racing in England — horse-racing, motorcar
racing, boat-racing, dog-racing, and even races for donkeys. On sports days
at school boys and girls run races, and even train for them. There is
usually a mile race for older boys, and the one who wins it is certainly a
good runner.
Usually those who run a race go as fast as possible, but there are
some races in which everybody has to go very carefully in order to avoid
falling.
There is the "three-legged" race, for example, in which a pair of
runners have the right leg of one tied to the left leg of the other. If
they try to go too fast they are certain to fall. And there is the egg-and-
spoon race, in which each runner must carry an egg in a spoon without
letting it drop. If the egg does fall, it must be picked up with the spoon,
not the fingers.
Naturally animals don't race unless they are made to run in some way,
though it often seems as if little lambs are running races with each other
in the fields in spring.
Horses are ridden, of course. Dogs won't race unless they have
something to chase, and so they are given a hare to go after, either a real
one or an imitation one.
The most famous boat-race in England is between Oxford and Cambridge.
It is rowed over a course on the River Thames, and thousands of people go
to watch it. The eight rowers in each boat have great struggle, and at the
end there is usually only a short distance between the winners and the
losers.
The University boat-race started in 1820 and has been rowed on the
Thames almost every spring since 1836. At the Henly Regatta in Oxfordshire,
founded in 1839, crews from all over the world compete each July in various
kinds of race over a straight course of 1 mile 550 yards (about 2.1 km).
Horse racing is big business, along with the betting which sustains
it. Every day of the year, except Sundays, there is a race meeting at least
one of Britain's several dozen racecourses. Nine-tenths of the betting is
done by people all over the country, by post or at local betting shops, and
it is estimated that a tenth of all British men bet regularly on horse
races, many of them never going to a race course.
Horse racing accounts for about half of all gambling, dog racing for a
quarter (after increasing by 27 per cent in 1987-88). The total gambling
expenditure is estimated at over three billion pounds a year, or nearly 1
per cent of the gross domestic product - though those who bet get about
three-quarters of their stake back in winnings. There is no national
lottery, though premium bonds are a form of national savings, with monthly
prizes instead of interest. About half of all households bet regularly on
the football pools, although half of the money staked is divided between
the state, through taxes, and the operators. People are attracted by the
hope of winning huge prizes, but some winners become miserable with their
sudden unaccustomed wealth. Bingo sessions, often in old cinemas, are
attractive mainly to women, and have a good social element. More popular
are the slot machines in establishments described as 'amusement arcades'.
There has been some worry about the addiction of young people to this form
of gambling, which can lead to theft.
Gambling
Even if they are not taking part or watching, British people like to
be involved in sport. They can do this by placing bets on future results.
Gambling is widespread throughout all social classes. It is so basic to
sport that the word 'sportsman' used to be a synonym for 'gambler'.
When, in 1993, the starting procedure for the Grand National did not
work properly, so that the race could not take place, it was widely
regarded as a national disaster. The Ј70 million which had been gambled on
the result (that's more than a pound for each man, woman and child in the
country!) all had to be given back.
Every year, billions of pounds are bet on horse races. So well-known
is this activity that everybody in the country, even those with no interest
in horse-racing, would understand the meaning of a question such as 'who
won the 2.30 at Chester?' (Which horse won the race that was scheduled to
take place at half past two today at the Chester racecourse? The questioner
probably wants to know because he or she has gambled some money on the
result.) The central role of horse-racing in gambling is also shown by one
of the names used to denote companies and individuals whose business it is
to take bets. Although these are generally known as 'bookmakers', they
sometimes call themselves 'turf accountants' ('turf is a word for ground
where grass grows);
Apart from the horses and the dogs, the most popular form of gambling
connected with sports is the football pools. Every week, more than ten
million people stake a small sum on the results of Saturday's professional
matches. Another popular type of gambling, stereotypically for middle-aged
working class women, is bingo.
Nonconformist religious groups traditionally frown upon gambling and
their disapproval has had some influence. Perhaps this is why Britain did
not have a national lottery until 1994. But if people want to gamble, then
they will. For instance, before the national lottery started, the British
gambled Ј250,000 on which company would be given the licence to run it! The
country's big bookmakers are willing to offer odds on almost anything at
all if asked. Who will be the next Labour party leader? Will it rain during
the Wimbledon tennis tournament? Will it snow on Christmas Day? All of
these offer opportunities for 'a flutter'.
Apropos of the Wimbledon tennis tournament: Wimbledon is a place to
which every tennis-player aspire. And I want to write some words about it.
WIMBLEDON
People all over the world know Wimbledon as the centre of lawn tennis.
But most people do not know that it was famous for another game before
tennis was invented. Wimbledon is now a part of Greater London. In 1874 it
was a country village, but it had a railway station and it was the home of
the All-England Croquet Club. The Club had been there since 1864. A lot of
people played croquet in England at that time and enjoyed it, but the
national championships did not attract many spectators. So the Club had
very little money, and the members were looking for ways of getting some.
"This new game of lawn tennis seems to have plenty of action, and people
like watching it," they thought. "Shall we allow people to play lawn tennis
on some of our beautiful croquet lawns?"
In 1875 they changed the name of the Club to the "All-England Lawn
Tennis and Croquet Club", and that is the name that you will still find in
the telephone book. Two years later, in 1877, Wimbledon held the first
world lawn tennis championship (men's singles).3 The winner was S. W. Gore,
a Londoner. There were 22 players, and 200 spectators, each paid one
shilling. Those who watched were dressed in the very latest fashion — the
men in hard top hats and long coats, and the ladies in dresses that reached
to the ground! The Club gained Ј 10. It was saved. Wimbledon grew. There
was some surprise and doubt, of course, when the Club allowed women to play
in the first women's singles championship in 1884. But the ladies played
well—even in long skirts that hid their legs and feet.
The Wimbledon championships begin on the Monday nearest to June 22, at
a time when England often has its finest weather. It is not only because of
the tennis that people like to go there. When the weather is good, it is a
very pleasant place to spend an afternoon. The grass is fresh and green,
the players wear beautiful white clothes, the spectators are dressed in the
latest fashion, there may be members of the Royal Family among them, and
there are cool drinks in the open-air cafes next to the tennis courts.
Millions of people watch the championships on television.
OTHER SPORTS
Almost every sport which exists is played in Britain. As well as the
sports already mentioned, hockey (mostly on a field but also on ice) is
quite popular, and both basketball (for men) and netball (for women) are
growing in popularity. So too is the ancient game of rounders.
Rounders
This sport is rather similar to American baseball and ancient Russian
lapta, but it certainly does not have the same image. It has a long history
in England as something that people (young and old, male and female) can
