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AUGUST BELMONT. , THE ABLE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOCKEY CLUB AND HIS HORSES . 1 WHEN the senior August Belmont passed away, his mantle as governor of. the turf, a turfman and a breeder fell upon the shoulders of his son and namesake, himself a man of singular ability in many ways and fully equal to coping with the heavy responsibilities of his present position as chairmnn of the Jockey Club. As such he is today the foremost figure of tlie American turf and of commanding Influence in its affairs. August Belmont was lwrn in New York in 1854 aud consequently is Hearing sixty years of age. Ue was prepared for college at the Bectory School at llamden. Conn., aud at Philips Exeter Academy. Entering Harvard University he passed through its stages creditably and graduated in 1874. He then began his business career in the banking house of his father and was made a partner in 1885. When his father died In ISOi lie became its head and directing power. As a conservative financier he lias long liecn prominent in great operations, mainly those designed for meeting the constantly Increasing needs of the metropolis of the western hemisphere for improved facilities or transportation, surface aud underground. 1 He was largely instrumental in providing means for the construction of New Yorks elaborate and highly serviceable subway system. This beneficial service to his native city is but one of many great undertakings in which he has figured prominently, and in more than one instance he lias assisted signally in forwarding financial measures of the greatest Importance to the treasury of the United States. Of the older August Belmont one gifted writer said after his death, "he was so intensely versatile that nothing human was alien to the bioad guage of his nature," and another wrote, "Belmont was a born Spartan, brave as a bulldog and generous as the town pump." These were tributes to. the real affection he inspired in the minds of those with whom he came into intimate contact. The present August Bellifont Is of colder nature and more reserved manners than was his father and more likely to be viewed with mere respect, but when occasion seemed to require it lie has proved himself a good mixer and one particularly effective in appealing to reason by the presentation of cogent arguments based on facts not lo be successfully controverted. An illustration of this gift is thus narrated in a publication of some years back. "An interview with one of the olllcials or the Jockey Club i" 1S90 related in detail some incidents in his career that illustrated his remarkable faculty of meeting threaten ng issues. It appears that during the previous summer the atmosphere was full of evil and scandalous reports concerning t rf matters. The stewards of the Jockey Club had worked hard to get some tangible evidence iid, but had onlv accumulated a mass or reports based on tattle and hearsay. Returning from Europe whi e the matter was still at fever heat, Mr. Belmont sent at once for the newspaper representatives and pointed out to them the harm they were doing by accepting idle rumors for facts. He also conferred with certain owners and trainers and convinced them of their suicidal policy in circulating reports not based on facts, and in doing things that might give rise to suspicion. The interview- went on to say that from that moment the atmosphere changed, the press began to help the stewards in their efforts to stamp out rascality, aud trainers, jockeys and owners bent their best energies in getting their horses to the front. Confidence was quickly re-established." The work which Mr. Belmont did at that juncture was of more than ordinary importance, but it is only a single Instance out of many showing the complete hold lie lias upon all turf affairs and the dlp.omatic ability with which he dispatches the work which falls to him to do. It is characteristic of his methods to assemble the the inside of the affairs, as lie understands newspaper men on occasions of exigency and lucidly explain it, to them. In thus taking them into counsel it is worthy of note that his confidence has rarely, If ever, been betrayed by premature publication of matters desired to be withheld from publicity for a time. Accustomed to visiting the race track in his boyhood and rejoicing in the victories of his fathers horses, it was but natural that he should inherit his fathers love of racing and breeding. Subsequent to ids fathers deatli in 1890 the thoroughbreds belonging to the Belmont estate were sold at public auction in two sales. The first was of horses in training and took place December 2i, 1890, twenty-eight head realizing 23,000, of Which Potomac brought j,0O0. The second was of the stallions, broodmares, yearlings and foals and took place October 1G and li, 1891. This was the sale at which St. Blaise was sold to Charles Beed for 00,000 and Its total was .l,S0O. The two sales combined brought the enormous total of 1913.sh41,400, its only parallel being the sale of the Marcus Daly horses that followed the lattcrs death. At this sale Mr. Belmont Iwught such of his father s horses as he desired to retain for his own use in racing and for the perpetuation of the Nursery Stud. His first racing was conducted under the name of the Blemton Stable. This was in 189J. 1S93 and 1S94. Subsequently his racing was in his own name. He took over such splendid stud matrons as ttie native mares Arnica. Bellegarde. Felicia, Feu Fo.let, Flavia, Fides. 1-lying Hsb, Glorv, Ladv Margaret, St. Pauline, Woodvine and others and such imported mares as Belladonna, Christmas Tree, Clover, Decoy, Frimsall, Kate Allen and Merry Nellie. As the years passed others were imported from England and judicious additions of American mares were made. His early stallions in service were Bavon dOr. Henry of Navarre, Magnctizer, Fiddlesticks and Margrave. Their progeny raced well for him, but lie finally secured the brilliant racer and first-class sire. Hastings, and with him achieved unexcelled success as a breeder. Octagon was another that played an important part for him and in Norman III. furnishing tho winner of the Two Thousand Guineas of 190S in England. The best horse Hastings gave him was tho brilliant colt, Fair Play, which ranked as onlv second to Colin in the racing of 1908 and. after the enforced retirement of the latter, took many of the greatest races of the year and won 0,215 for Mr. Belmont. Another wonderfully fast son of Hastings that was an especial favorite with his owner was the flying gelding, Priscilllan. A recent publication in Daily Racing Form showed that in the racing of the last six years the progeny of Hastings have won a greater aggregate of money than any other stallion standing in America, a record to gratify and satisfy any breeder. But having bad in mind and intention for some time the purpose of buying in England a stallion of the recognized highest class, Mr. Belmont put this intention into practical execution a few years back, when he purchased Rock Sand from Sir John Miller for 25,000. Rock Sand is one of the few Triple Crown winners, having won the Two Thousand Guineas, Epsom Derby and Doncaster St. Leger for Sir John in 1903 and in the course of his career in England won the great total of 50,S4S, ranking third in total winnings to Isinglass and Donovan. That the troubles that beset racing in this country led Mr. Belmont to sell Bock Sand last year to a syndicate of French and English owners for 150,000 Is known to all interested in our racing, but fortunately he did not depart before having sired sons capable of carrying on his line effectively in this country, not only in the possession of Mr. Belmont, but in other ownerships as well. It is well known that his son, Tracery, won the Doncaster St. Leger in a canter last fall and, besides winning the 0,000 Eclipse Stakes at San-down Park and other races this year, justly gained for himself the reputation of being not only the best horse of his age in England, but probably the best in the world as well. In parting with Rock Sand it is not probable that so sagacious and far seeing a man as Mr. Belmont did not have in contemplation that in Tracery he possessed a better horse and one amply qualified to succeed his sire in the stud, to which he has" been retired to stand next year in England at a stud fee of ,000. Doubtless in good time Mr. Belmont will bring sons and daughters of Tracery home to take part in and adorn American racing. P.esides there are Rock Sand two-year-olds and yearlings in his iwsscssion and in the possession of other owners, among which may be others like Tracery, Rock Flint, Rock View and Trap Rock. No other Triple Crown winner than Rock Sand was ever brought to this country, but the elder August Belmont imported tho Epsom Derby winner, St. Blaise, which, while not ranking with Rock Sand as a race horse, was a remarkably successful sire on this side, such jewels of racing as Potomac and La Tosca alone having been sufficient to- bring fame to any stallion. The pleasure of winning the Futurity never fell to the subject of this sketch, his nearest approach to it being when, in 1902, Savable defeated his Lord of tlie Vale by a nose, but Potomac won the richest Futurity ever run for his father in 1890. For a number of years past Mr. Belmont has carried on racing abroad witli a marked measure of success. Besides winning the St. Leger in England last year with Tracery lie also won the Prix re Diane French Oaks at Chantilly, France, with his filly, Quelle Est Belle IL, a brown daughter of Bock Sand and Queens Bower, and won other important events, so that in all his stable earnings in England and France readied the quite satisfactory total of 10,873. This year the combined returns from ids horses in the two countries will hardly equal that sum. but may not prove much less. He now owns a stud farm in Frauce, where he has a large band of broodmares, with our famous stayer, Etlielbert as its premier stallion. His Epsom Derby nominations for 1914 are the chestnut colt. Foolscap, bv Rock Sand Fiz-gig; black colt, Black Walnut, by Rock Sand Black Poplar: black colt, Don-de-Roca, by Rock Sand Donna do Oro; bay colt, Yuba Bill, by Fair Play St. Eudora; bay colt, Kincade, by Rock Sand Kings Favorite, and chestnut colt, Dramatlste IL, by Rock Sand Drama. What merit as race horses these, or any of them, may be gifted witli remains for the racing of next year to reveal. In his racing operations this year in this country Mr. Belmont has done fairly well and enjoyed the pleasure of possessing in Rock View a three-year-old quite in the front rank of his age, if not actually the best. Ex-officlo, as chairman of the Jockey Club. Mr. Belmont is an honorary member of tho Jockey Club of England, his co-holders In that exclusive distinction being the president and vice-president of the Frencli Jockey Club, the Khedive of Egypt, the steward of Ascot, appointed by King George, tho three stewards of the Societe dEncouragement pour, Lamelioration des Races do Clievaux en France, the chairman of committee of the Victoria Racing Club, the chairman of committee of the Australian Jockey Club, the president of the Ontario Jockey Club, the chairman of the New Zealand Racing Conference, Count Elcmer Batthyany, Comte de Berteux, Prince dArenberg, M. Henri Dela-marre. Prince Festetlcs, Prince Klnsky, Count Lehndorrf and Sir Charles Mathews. 1. .
