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MR UELMONT ON RACING Hon Perry Belmont recently returned from a trip to England where he saw Volodyovski win the Epsom Derby for Mr Whitney In a recent interview he talked in interesting fashion of conditions affecting rncingat home and abroad In the course of his remarks he said I will say that during recent years the American turf has greatly improved and there is no reason to fear comparison with the racing on the other side but everywhere there is always need for the greatest vigilance and there is always room for improvement improvementIn In the main the English racing men and those on the continent have accepted such of our ideas as have proved valuable Every one knows that in England France Austria and Bussia the American jockeys aro winning the majority of the important events this year Al ¬ though they have many imitators among the foreign jockeys there is still u very active de ¬ mand for American riders English and conti ¬ nental owners are constantly writing to this country to engage them Whan our jockeys first went abroad with their ideas of riding which were wholly at variance with the accepted solid and upright seat of the English jockey the people there were inclined to ridicule them But now one sees the familiar crouching position of the American away up on the neck cf his mount on every English racecourse and frequently on those of continental Europe The American jockeys seat seems to take many pounds of weight off the horse The idea which origina ¬ ted and was developed entirely on this side brought our riders first into prominence fame and money following afterward The riders over there at first were resentful to the in ¬ novation but were finally compelled to adopt the new method with some modifications modificationsTo To the American it seems strange that no training takes place on foreign race courses The training grounds are entirely separate It may be that the American exercise boys and jockeys who practically live upon the race courees here when it comes to riding in the actual races show much greater confidence This has giveu our ridera an important advant ¬ age on the other side sideAll All our jockeys have been graduated from the stable They have started in as stable boys have developed into exercise boys and as they showed adaptability and capability have been given regular mounts At our tracks any one can see the boys working out horses at almost all times of the day and all their train ¬ ing is had on the same courses as those on which the actual racing is done doneOn On the other side however the regular tracks are not used for training purposes Such CONTINUED OX SECOND FAQB MR BELMONT ON RACING Continued from First Page a thing there would not ba permitted for an instant The stable boys and jockeys work out their mounts on the downs where all the exer ¬ cising takes place There neither horse nor rider over gets near a regular track until the time for going to the post in a race It is an event with them to get on tho track as they plainly indicate by their manner mannerThe The superiority of the American jockey is of course well established now and attention is boing turned to the American trainers In Eng ¬ land there is undoubtedly a belief among rac ¬ ing men that our trainers are superior They are generally men of better education and bet ¬ ter qualifications in every way wayThe The American trainer is a somewhat older institution on the other side than the American rider but he has forced himself to the front as rapidly if not as ostentatiously American and English horses dovoloped under their eyes and methods of our trainers have been wonderfully successful of late and this state of affairs is rapidly extending to France also The English French Anstrians and Russians are today studying the methods of our trainers very closely and are following them in many ways The field over there for American trainers is very large and the openings are attractive Thus notwithstanding the many who have gone over already it is expected that others will fol ¬ low lowIs Is there any way you can suggest by which our racing can ba improved improvedSo So far as it is possible and whenever tho racing associations can afford it I thinV tho turns on our racecourses ought to be modified modifiedProbably Probably you know that the French Jockey Club since its foundation in 1865 up to the present day has had a rule prohibiting the run ¬ ning of twoyearolds before August 1 This is in striking contrast with the conduct of such races in this country Here we think nothing of sending out youngsters to the starters flag early in the spring Such a rule would hardly do in this country and I do not advocate its adoption but its existence for so long in France shows that the racing of twoyear olds early in the spring might reasonably bo dis ¬ couraged here This is especially true on tho tracks of the North NorthThe The English have shown a tendency to fol ¬ low tho course of the French although there is little likelihood of such a radical rule being adopted on the British turf There is a ten ¬ dency in America to start the youngsters at work too early in life and it might be wiser to wait until they aro a little batter seasoned
