RACING REVIVING.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume II, Issue 491, 6 September 1915, Page 2

RACING REVIVING.

ITS GROWTH IN AMERICAS

" The fact of a 30 clays' race- meeting l>eing held in San Francisco in connect tion with the Panama-Pacific Exposition draws pointed attention to |the" fresh growth the thoroughbred industry: has made in America during the past few years. Dp till two decades ago ;-the breeding of thoroughbreds, and light harness horses ranked next to agriculture', and mining in the Western Stages.

Those were the days of large breeding establishments, open betting, -.and- pros-

perous racing, but evil influences led to 'the townfall of all three. So flagrant were- the devices of bookmakers and pool sellers to rook the unsuspecting public,.and so rotten did the management of meetings become, that Congress stepped in and, by drastic legislation, put a quietus on racing, bookmaking, and breeding. So far as the _ betting element was concerned, it certainly de served little sympathy. But, unfortunately, it- was the professional bettor and- bookmaker, though mainly irespbnsible for the wipe-out, who suffered ithe least by its consequences. H The Unfortunate Breeder.

It was'the breeder -who was hit hard-

est by Congress's brick, for not only was Iris industry made unprofitable, but the capital invested in hundreds of "stock farms and thousands of high-class thoroughbreds melted before his eyes. It • was only a matter of a few years before the racing establishments and studs, that challenged comparison with the test in the world, gradually disappeared or changed "their sphere of usefulness. Bo for years facing and breeding was at a very low ebb, for, though .light .harness racing, managed to get along Without betting, stakes had to be reduced, and consequently- the value of horses depreciated by nearly half. Matters in regard to thoroughbreds were ' even worse, for most of the race tracks closed down, and the studs that continued in business had to send their yearlings abroad to find a market. It speaks wonders for the sport of trotting that It' managed to weather the storm so Well as it did. The Grand Circuit meetings were continued, and though the interest in them waned there was little if -any depreciation in the class of horses they attracted. Only a few weeks ago a : 12' days, meeting was.got off in connection with the great Exposition, at which £22,000 was distributed in stake money, and a similar One jb billed in a',couple of months' time. Reforms Suggested.

At the present time there is a strong '. agitation throughout the United States for the legalisation of betting per medium of the totalisator, and under the control of State "Racing Commissions. This system has already been given a trial in Kentucky with truly marvellous results., The situation in the '/blue ■crass State-'' is referred to by the .wellknown turf authority; Mr Henry Jones, who i'n the*- course of an interesting article, says: — . Famous Elmendorf Stud Farm is to pass into history as a breeding institur • tion. This is but natural in the United \ States, as there have been few sons of great studmasters who have kept up or completed the work of their fathers. -It is for this reason that the foreign '; breeders have accomplished far greater results in founding great families than -has been done here. We, Value of Blood Stock.

C But it is not of the passing that interest should centre, but of the condi-

tions existing whan the yearlings were . sold -in New York recently, compared ■jrith the -forced sales made in South American and other foreign markets a few years since,, when adverse legisla- . "taon all but annihilated the breed. In American there was no market; in fact, the attempted sales were simply pitiful:. Many well-bred yearlings were sold-for £lO to £ls, bought by traders, jiot by horsemen. And now in a few short years, although depression in business has been written and spoken until it has become a nightmare, a sale the equal of any held in boom days is held. Thirty-five yearlings sell for £9OOO, an average of £256. One brings £2500, another £I2OO, another £6OO. Then from A. B. Hancock's stud 11 head bring £3235, averaging £294.. These colts were untried, only" halter broken, and sold on individuality and breeding, and are bought for racing prospects only. A Boom in Racing.

If the history of racing the thoroughbred covering the same period is looked into the change is equally phenomenal. The/plant at Lexington, probably the oldest in the United States, having been founded in 1821, had been bankrupt for some years, and only £3O to £4O purses were offered when a meeting could be given. Even such meetings would scarcely pay out. The stabling and grounds were in such a condition that but few trainers cared to risk their horses there. What is it to-day? One of the best equipped racing plants to be found anywhere, track made level, inside sand track for winter and wet weather, stables full, and -buildings new ones every year. Purses £IOO to £120; handicaps, £2OO to £300; added money stakes (real stakes, not guaranteed purses with 5 per cent, deducted from nioney winners) £4OO to £SOO. • It is just as impossible to realise the transformation in this meeting as it is to realise that yearlings are .bringing the prices they, do. The Cause Explained. There must be some wonderful cause that raised this business from the mire that adverse legislation and the conscienceless gambler had plunged it into. It can bo easily explained. A few breeders of thoroughbreds in Kentucky, realising that all was gone unless quick acHon was taken, put their shoulders to th« wheel and began the education of legislators. They showed them siat one branch of the horse business, that business that had brought more new money into Kentucky and made the value of her lands greater than any other industry; that business that bad made her famous in all parts of the wcTld wh<u*e the horso is known and appreciated, was on the brink of destruction, and unless at once put upon a legitimate business basis, and protected by the laws of the State, it must bankrupt the majority of breeders and the. State lose her prestige. The result

was a law establishing the Racing Commission, which has absolute jurisdiction. It soys to racing associations that they shall not give purses of less than a certain sum, and that they will give certain class races every day. They have power, backed up by the State, with no appeal to some tribunal that fears the effect of the decision upon some member and glosses it over. The only motto is "Far the greatest good of the horso and racing." It is neither theory nor experiment. It is a reality, has been tried, and delivered the goods." TEMPLAR.