THE WAR AND RACING IN ENGLAND.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1325, 16 September 1915, Page 11

THE WAR AND RACING IN ENGLAND.

What the effect on racing has already been, and what it is likely to be for some time, may be gathered from the following from the p?n of the Special Commissioner of the London “Sportsman” in a July number of that paper: —I suppose it is useless to hope that there will be racing anywhere else than at Newmarket during the remainder of the season, which has nearly five months to run, and the outlook is almost as black as far as concerns the winter for sport under (he National Hunt. Starvation awaits thousands of people employed in the racing affairs, whose qualification for other service is nil, and very serious injury, from which it will take years to recover, must result to the great national industry of horse-breeding, which is of such vital importance to this country. What is to follow in the way of misery and distress to an enormous number of honest and hardworking folk cannot be imagined, for no man breathing can realise the farreaching effect of the boycotting of racing. We had a preliminary taste of the coming depression last week at Newmarket, when yearlngs sold for prices the average of which, as shown by the simple figures which I quoted by comparison with last year, indicated a drop of over 60 per cent, in values. Many breeders have been compelled to sell at a loss, even for less than rhe cost of covering fees,

to say nothing of the keep for mare and foal. It cannot be said that Newmarket owners and employees have, not responded loyally to the call of duty, and the same remark applies to every training centre in the kingdom, for all stables have sent their full quota of recruits to the Army or Navy.