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COST OF KEEPING A RACER IN ENGLAND. A rather interesting English racing discussion has been caused by an article on "The Financial Aspect of Ilacing," by Lord Hamilton of Dalzell. It is acknowledged that Lord Hamilton Is well qualified to write with knowledge on this subject; but nevertheless there is a disposition to question his figures, lie figures that it costs to keep a horse in training ,000, exclusive of forfeits, and that it costs 17 to win 20 of added money. Itafner, the racing expert of the Illustrated Sporting News, figures that Lord Hamilton is away lclow the mark, ne says: "All things considered, I reckon that to keep a horse of fair class in training and to run him seven or eight times, will cost 2,500 a year. Ten horses would therefore cost 25,000. Many owners have ten and a good many more than ten. How many of them won over 25,000 iu stakes last year? Just one and twenty. Of those whose strings consisted, I fancy, of a great many over half a score,, were the late Sir James Miller, the duke of Devonshire, Sir It. Waldie Griffith, Lord Carnarvon, A. P. Cunllff, W. Bass, J. Muskyr, the Duke of Portland and His Majesty. I mention these because their names follow on as winners of less than 25,000 from 24,225 to 4,500. All these owners breed their horses, an expense not reckoned; though, on the other hand, it is fair to point out that an animal, particularly a mare, may win little or nothing, and yet possess a high value; but, indeed, the owner ought to have some such pull." It would appear from this that a man of moderate means lias little business racing horses. The fact that a comparatively poor man occasionally gets hold of an exceptionally high class horse, and makes a winner, is simply the exception which proves the rule. Another question which is agitating racing men which may be of interest to American horsemen. Is the advisability of "firing" for lameness. The weight of opinion is that only in rare exceptions is the practice worth while. Most experts who have tukcu part in the discussion opine that it is a sort of last desperate expedient to keep on his legs racehorse which otherwise would be useless.
