love of racing, of
riding, and of the horse. Conspicuous amongst the good sportsmen who
were also good friends of the Prince were the names of the Duke of
Portland, Sir George Wombwell, Sir Reuben Sassoon, the Rothschilds, the
late Lord Sefton, Mr. Henry Chaplin, the Earl of Zetland and Sir
Frederick Johnstone. Sir John Astley, Lord and Lady Claude Hamilton, Mr.
and Mrs. Arthur James, Sir Edward Lawson, Sir Edward Hulse, Lord and
Lady Gerard, the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon, Sir William Russell and
Lady Dorothy Neville may be mentioned amongst other devotees of the turf
who ranked in later years as friends of the Prince of Wales in this
particular social "set." In this connection the annual Derby Day dinner
must be mentioned. From 1887 to the time of the Prince's accession this
Royal banquet to the members of the Jockey Club was an important
institution and a much looked-for event in racing circles. Latterly it
was the chief regular entertainment of the year at Marlborough House.
The function was elaborate yet not too formal. Evening dress and not
uniform was the custom; the guests included about fifty of the leading
patrons of the turf and there were generally half-a-dozen of the Royal
family present; the great silver dinner service ordered by the Prince at
his marriage was always used; and the dining-room with its side-boards
laden with gold and silver trophies of the race-course and attendants in
scarlet, blue and gold, was a brilliant sight. Dinner did not usually
last more than an hour and then the guests adjourned to the drawing-room
for whist. In 1896 and 1900 the toast of the Derby winner, which had so
often been proposed by the Royal host, had to be given to some one
else--greatly to the enthusiasm of the guests.

The Prince of Wales was always a fearless rider and was fond of it from
childhood. As an undergraduate at Christ-Church he constantly hunted
with Lord Macclesfield's pack and was then considered a hard rider; but
in after years his riding was mainly done in connection with military
and other functions and for exercise, in a milder way than that of
following the hounds. Akin, in some respects to the sport of racing, is
that of yachting and to this the Prince of Wales was almost equally
devoted. Naturally fond of the sea, trained in ocean travel in days when
it was no pleasant drawing-room experience to cross the Atlantic,
familiar with every part of a yacht and detail of its management, it was
only