L INKS between boxing and horse racing go back centuries. In racing’s early days, Newmarket’s movers and shakers had a predilection for pugilism. In 1790, two of Britain’s top jockeys, Sam Chifney and Dick Goodison, settled a dispute over “dirty riding” with a fight for 100 guineas aside on the insistence of their patrons, respectively the Duke of Bedford and the Duke of Queensberry. In 1867, Queensberry’s relative John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry, would lend the name to boxing’s most famous set of rules. Boxing has long been popular among jockeys and stable staff, so much so that by the early 20th century the annual stable lads’ boxing championship had become an unmissable staple in the racing calendar and remained so for decades. There were big rivalries between racing stables with the finals held at prestigious venues such as the National Sporting Club, the Holborn Stadium, the Royal Albert Hall and the London Hilton Hotel.