One of the really popular entertainments at sea would have been either a night at the races held in the
Main Lounge, or an afternoon meeting held on the Lido Deck Aft. There were several different card covers
used for these meetings, and at least 5 sets of “fields.” I've set up this dedicated page to
show you the inside of these cards, and perhaps have a chuckle at the fields.
If you're wondering how it was played, I can do no better than to quote Mr. T.R. Schoonover,
a passenger on the cruise.
TRS After Dinner he “…saw a movie It's A Big Country then played
horse races - toy horses are moved forward as dice are cast. Good entertainment,
moderate betting, with a sizeable tax cut for merrie old England. Clocks turned forward
an hour.”
The “sizeable tax-cut” T.R.S. refers to was actually a “levy” in place of tax, supporting the
Merchant Navy School a co-educational orphanage in the UK.
To us crew, the place was known as the “Wokingham Homes”, a charity supported by Caronia's R.A.O.B. lodge
and her Sports and Social Club.
The race scene shown on this cover is from an old etching which depicts the christening,
by Capt. Becher in 1839, of the famous Becher's Brook on the Grand National Racecourse at
Aintree: It is reproduced (on the card) by courtesy of Tophams Ltd., Aintree, England.
Card number 7 is from circa 1952 and also carried a “version A” of the field. With only minor
printing differences, including the absence of the “A” identifier it closely matches the top
image of this field shown below.
Race card number 3 typically illustrates the light-heartedness of the Race Meetings, with King Neptune
seen checking on his runner from the depths of the ocean. This shows Field C of the series.
Another amusing Race card is number 6 with an octopus jockey riding a fish. This card also featured Field
C and was used on a summer West Indies cruise in 1960. On an August 1959 transatlantic, it featured twice, first with
Version 2 of Field A and also with Version 2 of Field D.
Another fun theme to Race Card number 4, showing images of the wooden horses used in the races.
In later years the same field was applied to an updated cover, seen right.
[Above:]
Card (D) The field for a meeting held on the 1954 Autumn Mediterranean Cruise
[Below:]
Version 2 of Card (D) The field for another meeting held on an eastbound transatlantic of August 1959
Race Card # 1
Race Card # 2
Race Card # 3
Race Card # 4
Race Card # 5
Race Card # 6
Race Card # 7
Race Card # 8
Race Card # 9
