A Matter Of Speed

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31276, 24 January 1967, Page 4

A Matter Of Speed

Sir, —Your contributor wrote an interesting article on “Are Today’s Horses any Faster?” I see that he compares Beaumaris (2min 30sec) and Desert Gold (2min 32 3-5 sec) over a mile and a half. If we “race” these horses arithmetically, the former wins by 2 3-ssec which does not seem much. When we translate this time difference into a distance, howevei 1 , we find Beaumaris winning by forty-five yards which is no negligible winning margin. Similarly Beaumaris’s “victory” over Runnymede is converted from 1 4-ssec to 30 yards, an easy win when changed into lengths.—Yours, etc., J. DUGDALE.

Sir, —I was pleased to see your article “Are Today’s Horses any Faster?” on the racing page. I have been going to the races for nearly 50 years now and I can say that

the best horses today are not any faster really. One proof of this your writer did not mention is the fact that Gloaming set a world record for half a mile back in 1921 and still it has not been beaten. I think he is wrong, though, saying today’s horses are just as sound as they used to be. We read so many times in the papers of horses breaking down these days. It never used to be like that. I would rate Desert Gold and Kindergarten as the best that I have ever seen and I think they would be far better than any horses racing today.—Yours, etc., OLD TIMER.

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