Readings: Haydn
“When they are ready, the bell is rung a second time, and at the first stroke they ride off at once. Whoever is the first to traverse the circle of 2 miles and return to the platform from which they started receives the prize. In the first heat there were 3 riders and they had to go around the circle twice without stopping. They did this double course in 5 minutes … No stranger would believe this unless they had seen it themselves.
“The second time there were seven riders. When they were in the middle of the circle, all 7 were in the same line, but as soon as they came nearer some fell behind, but never more than about 10 paces; and just when you think that one of them is rather near the goal and people make large bets on him at this moment, another rushes past him at very close corners and with unbelievable force reaches the winning place.
“The riders are very lightly clad in silk and each one has a different color, so that you can recognize him more easily; no boots, a little cap on his head, they are all as lean as a greyhound and as lean as their horses. Everyone is weighed in and a certain weight is allowed him, in relation to the strength of the horse, and if the rider is too light he must put on heavier clothes, or they hang some lead on him…
“Among other things a single large stall is erected, wherein the Englishmen place their bets. The King has his own stall at one side. I saw 5 heats the first day, and despite a heavy rain there were 2000 vehicles, all full of people, and 3 times as many common people on foot. Bsides this, there are all sorts of other things — puppet plays, hawkers, horror plays — which go on during the races; many tents with refreshments, all kinds of wine and beer.” — From the diary of Joseph Haydn [Many thanks to my friend Jim for sending along this passage, which he found in Harold C. Schonberg’s “The Lives of the Great Composers.” According to Schonberg, Haydn was one of the earliest to give a descriptive account of racing. This account is from the races at Ascot on June 14, 1792.]
