A red silk jockey's jacket worn by Jem Mason, mounted in a glass fronted display case with a typescript caption reading JACKET WORN BY J.MASON, WHO RO

A red silk jockey's jacket worn by Jem Mason, mounted in a glass fronted display case with a typescript caption reading JACKET WORN BY J.MASON, WHO RODE MR. J. ELMORE'S 'LOTTERY,' WINNER OF THE FIRST NATIONAL ON THIS COURSE, 86.5 by 73.5cm., 34 by 29in. For as long as can be remembered these silks were displayed in the County Stand at Aintree racecourse. However, little of the provenance of the silks is known to support the statement of the caption. The colours of Mr Elmore, the owner of Lottery, are not recorded in the racing calendars of the day, and despite a good deal of research from Grand National historians no published evidence has been found. However, a number of paintings and prints exist of Lottery and the Grand National and these always portray the jockey Jem Mason wearing a blue jacket and a black cap. Although, curiously, one print appears to go against this and portrays Mason in a reddish jacket. It is also possible to read the card and deduce that Mason wore this jacket in races during his career, but not necessarily while riding Lottery and winning the Grand National. Perhaps they were the racing colours of Mason himself? Although clearly an ancient and historic jockey's jacket and a superb collector's item, the exact meaning of the silks remains somewhat mysterious and worthy of further research.