The General Stud Book

The General Stud Book is a breed registry for horses in Great Britain and Ireland. More specifically, it documents the breeding of Thoroughbreds and related foundation bloodstock such as the Arabian horse. Today, it is published every four years by Weatherby's.

John Cheny of Arundel in 1726 had announced his intention to publish annually for seven years a list of all races. The first volume appeared in 1727 with the title "An Historical list of all Horse-Matches Run, and of all Plates and Prizes Run for in England (of the value of Ten Pounds or upwards). 

In his preface, he tells us that he 'travelled the Kingdom over, contracting a correspondence in every part wit persons who, at the very time of the sport, are to take accounts for me where I do not appear.' He included in his books a large number of pedigrees directly and to identify individual horses competing in races. In 1739, he was commanded by the King's Master of the Horse, Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, to publish revised rules for the running of King's Plates. In 1741, he conceived a plan for taking the pedigrees out of his Calendars and putting them in a separate stud book, but he had not done this by the time he died in 1750.

Reginald Heber, in his Racing Calendar for 1756, explored the idea of a stud book and even created a template to guide its compilation.

Despite the obvious merits of this suggestion, no further progress was made until 1786, when the turf historian William Pick published his 'Authentic Historical Racing Calendar,' which gave records of races run in Yorkshire from 1709 to 1785 and contained pedigrees and performances for the leading stallions.

James Weatherby had served the Jockey Club as 'Keeper of the Match-book at Newmarket' since 1770 and the proprietor of the only racing calendar then in publication. In 1791, he promoted the publication of The General Stud Book, a definitive record of the pedigrees of approximately 400 horses, which were seen as the foundation for all thoroughbred stock worldwide.

Weatherby published 'Introduction to a General Stud Book' in the same year. For pre-1750 pedigrees, he relied heavily on publications by Cheny, Heber, and Pick, old sales catalogues, and his own private enquiries.

The 'Introduction to a General Stud Book' was filled with errors and was not at all complete, but it was popular and led in 1793 to the first volume of the General Stud Book, which had many more pedigrees and was more accurate. Volume one was revised many times, the most important being in 1803, 1808, 1827, 1859 and 1891.

Since then, the General Stud Book has been owned and maintained by the business James Weatherby and his brother created.

Racing Women

In 1748, the Bath Journal of August 8:

‘Advertisement, the following ASSES were entered to run on the Town-Common Thursday last; the Names they were enter’d by were Merry Pintle, Spanking, Roger, Morecock, Turpin, Mouse, Perrdy, Spider, Picksey, Pug, Jan Parsons, Roger &c. They were rode by Boys, and the Plate was won by Jackey Skares’ Ass Merry Pintle - There were Six Thousand Persons on the course, and some of Distinction who came many miles to see the Sport - a Smock and Hat were run for at the same Time by Girls.’

There are a couple of things of interest here; firstly, how popular ass racing was and how well-known many of the asses were. The second is that it is an early Bath reference to the popular Georgian sport of smock racing. It probably also tells you something about contemporary attitudes toward working-class women: the Asses were the main attraction and are named.

Another advert for a similar event featuring asses and girls provides further information. The Smock race would consist of three heats; the winner would get the smock, the second would get the hat, and the third would get half a crown, which gives some idea of the considerable value of the clothing. Women who wished to compete were required to report to the Common House by 3 p.m. on the day. The asses won a guinea for first, 5 shillings for second and half a crown for third. 

Smocks, or shifts, were the basic all-purpose undergarments for Georgian women worn beneath stays and gowns during the day and often also in bed at night. The smocks offered as prizes were usually made of high-quality linen and often trimmed with lace and ribbons. The prize smock was often displayed hanging from a nearby flag pole or tree branch. 

Rowlandson 1811

Smock races were popular entertainment throughout the Georgian period partly because they served the almost insatiable demand for gambling opportunities but also, and perhaps primarily, because they allowed opportunities for the male spectators to see young women wearing loose clothing, which often became disarranged and flushed from physical exertion. This is amply illustrated in the above Rowlandson print.

From all the reports and the many prints, competition among the often desperately poor women was fierce. There do not seem to have been any actual rules, and the women freely tripped and barged their rivals, often knocking them into the dust. The more violent the race became, the more audiences would roar their approval and the more acclaim the eventual victor would receive.

Smock races took place in various locations around Bath throughout the eighteenth century, including the Parades and Lansdown and were a feature of many fairs.