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1 i CHIEF AMERICAN BREEDING FARMS. E Great Establishments Where the Thorough- C bred is Reared in Costly Surroundings. New Orleans, La., December 5. A. F. Mathews, who has seen much of racing in England and on the continent in the last two or three years, and f who, together with his own, will have twelve horses 1 here this winter, recently made a tour of the breed- J ing farms of central Kentucky and was greatly pleased with what he saw up there. "The Blue Grass region is a beautiful country,", said he, "and they certainly have some splendid farms in that section. But outside of their blue grass and lime- stone water, I do not think they can show anything that in any manner excels the Raucocas 1 Farm in Xew Jersey, established by the late Pierre Loriliard some thirty years ago. "There is no breeding farm in the world that in i size and general equipment surpasses James B. 1 Haggiiis Elmendorf Farm near Lexington. But 1 it is not always the big and well furnished farms that breed race horses, as witness James K. Keenes Castleton Farm, which at present lias jnst about the same old plantation aspect that it had before the war, and when they show you there such horses as Voter and Disguise II., you are at once 1 impressed that it is not size or equipment, but 1 quality in breeding stock that brings about re-suits. It would be ditlicult to imagine a place better fitted with modern convenience than Elmendorf Farm. They have there lire proof stalls, a hospital, an operating room, new modern barns, an abundance of big paddocks, grain elevator, elecfrie lighting plant, and about everything conceivable that might add to the comfort of man or beast. I am told that, with his purchases of land in the last five or six years, Elmendorf has already cost Mr. Haggin ,000,000 and that the place is at present run at a big loss on the original investment. "About twenty stallions are at the farm, among them Watercress, Kinley Mack, Salvator, Star Ituliy, Africander, Dieudonne, etc., but none of these, although most of them have had ample opportunity, has shown any great reproducing ability. In the last few years they have bred an average each season of ,"00 mares at Elmendorf, but not a single one of this produce has come to the front as a really high-class race horse. One leaves the Haggin farm with the feeling that .everything there is overdone. You cannot corner the breeding market. With quantity you have got to have also quality if you expect to raise and develop race horses. "At Castleton, with the old. fashioned residence set far back from the pike, and a park driveway leading to it between stately rows of trees, you can easily imagine yourself back in the ante helium days, and when they begin to show you the horses, you sit up and take notice. "One could listen and be entertained by the hour in the horse conversation of Major Daingerfield, a line Virginia gentleman of the old school, and admittedly the closest student of breeding in Kentucky. Major Daingerfields success has been achieved through the mating of home-bred stallions with Mr. Keenes valuable imported English mares, with due consideration to individuality, size, etc., in t he crossing. He is a great believer in the Mannie Gray dam of Domino family, a strain that lias probably produced more speed than any other on this side of the water. Many people are impressed by the size of horses and naturally I was anxious to see the dam of Colin, which is an immense horse. I was much surprised to find that Pastorella is a small, but fine mare, showing speed in every line. The mating of her with Commando, which produced Colin, is an illustration of one of Major Daingerfields theories of breeding. Pastorella cost Mr. Keene 0,000, and his entire outfit of English mares about 00,000. Castleton Farm is a study, not of hours, but of weeks and you leave there with the determination that you will revisit the place at the earliest opportunity. "Clarence Mackays place, the home of Meddler, Is the best equipped small farm in Kentucky, certainly the most sightly. Here you find besides Meddler, about ten broodmares that cost on an average 0,000 each. At Mr. Mackays sale in the east this season, you could scarcely buy one of his yearlings at any price, showing again that everybody wants quality in race horses. "Adam, the imported French horse, is at Mill-stream Stud, which is owned by Mr. Bishop, a big Wall street operator, Steward Andrew Miller of the Jockey Club, Tom Welch and Blair Painter. Adam is held at a stud fee of ,000 and tills last spring he was bred to twenty-three mares. It is reported that twenty-one of them are in foal. Adam is a striking animal, of great size and splcn- did conformation. He represents the Flying Fox family in this conn try. He was advertised to be sold at the Lexington sale last week and a number of eastern men journeyed to Kentucky to bid on him, but he was withdrawn. He cost his owners something like ,000. He is over five years old. "At the Nursery Stud is Rock Sand, for which August Belmont paid 25,000. This is the block -iest horse I ever saw. He is built on the lines of Sharkey, the prize fighter. He impresses you with immense strength and reserve force and a bull dog tenacity that would never know defeat. If this horse is a failure in this country I shall be much surprised and the chances are that Mr. I Belmont at last has a horse that may make a . reputation. Some American breeders have critic-: ized this horse severely, but he was one of the Continued on second page. J - 1; t e j c " 1 1 1 ! i t i c 1 j J 1 1 1 i : i ; , . . , , 1 1 ; : 1 : CHIEF AMERICAN BREEDING FARMS. Continued from first page. best winners in England in recent years. He won the Derby and defeated most of the best horses over there. He headed the winning list, has breeding and conformation. Why shouldnt he get race horses? There is no horse in Kentucky, in my opinion, that looks so full of promise as Rock Sand. These new good horses will give an impetus to, American breeding that it has not had in a generation. "Reverting again to breeding farm equipment, a comparison of the Kentucky farms with Rancocas is not at all to the latters discredit. Mr. Loril-lard was, with the possible exceptions of August Belmont and James R. Kccue, the most enthusiastic and best sportsman this country has ever known. On one occasion, the present king of England is reported to have said that he would rather live the life of Mr. Lorillard than that of any sportsman lie knew in England. When Mil Lorillard conceived the idea of establishing a breeding farm he employed professors from Columbia College to investigate as to the best geological location contiguous to New York. These eventually reported on Jobstown, N.- J., as an ideal place for a farm. "Jobstown is located about three miles east of the Delaware river at a point called Kinkora, five miles east of Trenton. Kinkora is named after an Indian chieftain. The land on which the farm is located was granted to the original owners by the English crown 200 years ago. The house as built by the original settlers, is still in a good state of preservation and is used as a living house today. It is the oldest house in New Jersey. The original owner of this tract of land had five sons. He named them Job, Charles, Thomas, Julius and Frank, and the five neighboring towns are named after these sons. The farm comprises 1,700 acres of land, and to complete It cost Mr. Lorillard 2,500,000. An idea of the thoroughness with which he went about it is shown in the fact that the purchase and planting of trees to servo as a wind brake in winter, cost 100,000. Fifty-seven thousand dollars was spent in building fences alone, and a windmill cost 20.000. The farm lias a six furlongs dirt track and a mile turf track, as good as can be found anywhere. The paddocks are big and roomy, there is a game preserve, an artificial lake, and a drainage system that cost 75,000. Mr. Lorillard made of the place a country gentlemans seat, as well as a breeding farm and it was his delight to entertain his friends there. The house is filled with the rarest paintings, tapestries, antique furniture, etc. It contains the bedstead of the ill-fated French queen, Marie Antoinette, for which. Senator Clark offered Mr. Lorillard 45,000. In earlier days this farm produced " more great race horses than any other in the union. While to its present owner, Mrs. Livingston, breeding has been a secondary consideration, the produce of the farm lust year won seventy races. When Mr. Lorillard died he left instructions that none of his mares and none of his horses that had borne his colors should be sold or destroyed, but that on the contrary they should be kept on the farm and cared for as long as they lived. Had Mr. Lorillard lived, Lamplighter would not have been disposed of at the recent Lexington sale for the paltry sum of 100. "At present at Rancocas are the stallions Gigan-tcum, Armeath, Loeohatchee, now twenty-one years old, and Ildrim. There are about 500 marcs on the farm. It is Mrs. Livingstons intention to continue in breeding and to give more of her attention to it in the future. She is a great admirer of line horses and well posted in the intricacies of the best blood lines. "Impressed as I was with Castleton Farm, it may not be out of place to conclude by saying that in my estimation of all American turfmen and sportsmen none equals James R. Keene in admiration of the thoroughbred and In the gameness which he has exhibited in standing by racing through thick and thin. Mr. Keene poured his money into breeding at a time when racing was badly off in the east and there was no prospect at all for any immediate returns. He richly merits the success that hds stable has enjoyed in the last few years.:
