A New Sales Center, Daily Racing Form, 1902-08-21

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A NEW SALES CENTER. "Actuated by tho unexpected success of the Mackay and Reed Bales last week, the officers of the Saratoga Racing Association are seriously considering an innovation which may result in bringing to Saratoga the annual yearling salos of tho great breeding establishments of Kentucky, Tennessee and California. The details of tho plan have not yet been fully considered and agreed upon, but tho scheme comprehends the construction of 900 stalls to house yearlings in and a three-quarter straightaway track on which to break them. "Mr. William C. Whitney and his brother officers in tho management of Saratogas racing enterprise have asked for figures as to the cost of 900 Btalls, and Charles W. Leavitt, Jr., the builder,of the no w track, has been requested to find out immediat ely how much land in the neighborhood of Horse Haven would be needed to build the straightaway on, and what the construction of such a track would cost," says a Saratoga letter to Daily America. "It is understood that the association will, if the plan is adopted, let the new stalls out to the breeding establishments or the sale companies conducting the auctions for nominal rents. They only want enough money to pay the cost of maintenance. "The association believes it could get back any money expended in tho construction of the stalls and track in gate money from the crowds tho sales would attract. If the scheme should be adopted and put through, Saratoga would, more than ever, be the great racing center of tho United States. "The yearling sales would add greatly to the attractiveness of the Saratoga meetings. They are becoming more and more interesting year by year, owing to the rapidly spreading interest in horse racing and the numerous accessions the sport is getting from the ranks of the wealthy. "Saratoga offers peculiar advantages as a pi ace for tho breaking and selling of yearlings. The climate is healthful, the water unsurpassed; there are no mosquitos and only a few flies,- and the tender youngsters would not be exposed to destructive attacks of catarrhal fever. The idea of making Saratoga a place for the yearling sales occurred to Mr. Whitney at tho Mackay auction. "The selling of the Mackay horses here was an experiment, as to the success of which many smart horsemen were dubious. It turned out that every one who amounted to anything in the horse world, or who ever hoped to, was present, and the Mackay horses Mexican excepted fetched bigger prices than it was expected they would bring. "There is nothing to do here of mornings except to drink water, and as water drinking sometimes becomes monotonous, Mr. Whitney believes that all Saratoga would turn out to attend yearling sales. Saratoga has not as many side attractions as New York to divert the attention of buyers. "One feature which the officers of the Saratoga Association believe will appeal strongly to the big breeders is the fact that Saratoga is the regular meeting place of the eastern and western stables, and, as such, attracts western horsemen who cannot conveniently get to the Sheepshead Bay and Gravesend meetings in the early spring. If the scheme goes through, buyers will be permitted to use all the Saratoga courses after tho wind-up of tho midsummer meetings to exercise their now purchases over."


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1902082101/drf1902082101_5_3
Local Identifier: drf1902082101_5_3
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800