There can’t be many students who have had to leave Oxford University because they owned a racehorse, but Archibald Primrose (1847-1929), who became 5th Earl of Rosebery and 1st Earl of Midlothian, was given that choice in 1868 – sell the horse, named Ladas, or give up your studies.
Primrose chose the horse and became a significant figure in British horseracing for four decades. He was also an outstanding marksman, an early promoter of both rugby and association football (soccer) in Scotland, a noted writer, historian, connoisseur, collector of fine books and a dazzling speaker. It was this last attribute
