SNIPPET: Irish legend has it that The Curragh was reputedly a place for chariot racing and the ancient Brehon Laws listed a complicated set of rules and regulations for the practice of the sport by young men of noble birth. But racing as we know it today began in Kildare in more modern times, and by 1727, when 'Cheney's Racing Calendar' was published for the first time, The Curragh had already become the headquarters of the 'Sport of Kings' in Ireland. Early on, the great contests were in the form of 'match races' in which one great champion was pitted directly against another. In a contest of this type in September 1751, a steed called 'Black and All Black' took on a rival named 'Bajazet' for a prize of 1,000 guineas. The side bets came to a total of 10,000 guineas, a vast fortune in those days. By 1812 a new phenomenon arrived on the scene in the form of Patrick CONNOLLY who set up as a 'public trainer' of racehorses at Waterford Lodge. Up to that time the landed proprietors trained their own champions.