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TOUCHING OLD-TIME RACING METHODS. There is no keener critic of racing and the conditions surrounding the sport than Walter S. Aos-burgli, the talented handieapper of the Jockey Club, whose work was never more brilliant than during the present season. Mr. Aosburgh got his first taste of racing in the days when Jerome Park was voniig, and with the sport about to shift to Empire City, not so many miles from the historic did. saddle-bags course, he became reminiscent a few daye ago at Aqueduct. "When Jerome Park opened its gates in September, lSCti. he said, "it had a membership that included the foremost men of that time, among them Leonard AV. Jerome, William K. Travels, John Hunter, August Belmont, 1. I. Withers, George Osgood, William Constable, Judge Alonzo C. Mun-son, John F. Purdy and Sir Kodericic Cameron, and the racing was what might be expected with such men of affairs guiding the policy of the organization. The feature of that first meeting, which was of only four days duration, was the Inauguration Stakes of four mile heats. Kentucky, owned bv Messrs. Hunter, Travcrs and Osgood and which afterward passed to Mr. Jerome, won in straight heats, beating among others Idlewild and Fleetwing. There were four days of sport in the autumn also and these meetings were functions which attracted the elite of the country. "Not the least interesting feature of these times, continued Mr. Vosburgh, "was what was known as Match Day. On the day prior to tin; opening of the regular meeting, matched races, the result of argument between rival breeders, who were eager to back tlie get of a favorite stallion, would be run off. Two-year-olds that had never started were usuallv the contestants, and I recall one race for 0,000 between Sir Roderick Cameron, who backed the get of Leamington, against John Hunter, who nominated his stallion Censor. Sir Roderick won. and the event was the medium for some heavy outside wagering. There would be five or six of these events and they stimulated the breeding interest tremendously. Those were days of heavy wagering, with the first subscription room at Broad-wav and Twenty-first street, and afterwards located at Madison avenue and Twenty-seventh street. Then; wore only a few meetings each year, the reason including Pimlieo and Jerome Park spring and fall, with midsummer meetings at Prospect Park. Saratoga and Monmouth Park. Most of the races were over a considerable distance of ground, and some of them were at heats. There wore days when the trainer gave the bulk of his attention to the making of muscle and the horses of that time were galloped mile after mile under heavy blankets anil scraped until every ounce of fat was removed. Naturally this treatment dulled their speed and the result of most of such contests was a trial of endurance. I can only recall one long race that was run at top speed from the fall of the flag the Maturity Stakes at three miles in 1872, when Harry Bassettand Monarchist ran the first two miles at a tremendous pace, the former being done at that point. If the horses of the present were trained as they were then they wouldnt last through a single season. If a horse started fifteen times in a season it was considered phenomenal. "A commendable feature of the sport," continued the speaker, "was the large number of races at equal weights that wore run. There were many special prizes for three-year-olds, among them the Belmont and Annual Stakes at Jerome Park, each wortli about 1916.sh,000, the Travers and Kenner at Saratoga and the Jersey Derby, Lorillard and Omnibus at Monmouth Park, of equal or greater value. Owners had fewer engagements and every colt in training that had the remotest chance went to the post. There were stakes where the other horses met at equal weights, also among them the Maturity, already mentioned, which was exclusively for four-year-olds. Preakness, Parole and other champions" were seen in it. It was a time when every sportsman was proud to see his colors in public. The owner had. more to say about the conduct Of his stable perhaps than in these days when many of our trainers are afraid to risk a defeat. Its more a matter of business today than in the period of which I speak." In response to the question of what he considered a fair distance in which to test the speed and stamina of a race horse. Mr. Vosburgh said: "One mile and a quarter should be ample. I shouldnt like to see a revival of those struggles at heats over a distance. They had a blighting efTect upon all that took part in them. Weight for age races? Mr. Perry Belmont, you will remember, wanted each association to place one of them upon its program, but owners, or rather, trainers, declined to fill them, and after a time they were dropped. Wouldnt they serve a splendid purpose? Unquestionably if they received a sufficient degree of patronage to warrant the associations making them a fixture, but until that day arrives I fear we cant look for any movement along that line." In response to the question as to what horse had the greatest sentimental attraction for him, Mr. Vosburgh replied: "Parole. Parole was an idol before and after his English trip. He had only one burst of speed, but that was so phenomenal that once witnessed you never forgot it." The conversation turning upon the imposts possible for a two-year-old to carry to victory, Mr. Vosburgh cited the case of Hamburg, which won the Great Eastern Handicap with 135 pounds in the saddle. "There were some trainers." said he in conclusion, "who begged Mr. Madden to scratch his colt because they didnt want to establish a precedent by having a two-year-old win with that burden. I put 140 pounds on Endurance by Bight, but she didnt accept. By the way, that wis a wonderful filly one of the best the American turf has ever produced. Havent some owners started horses to prove that I had them wrongly weighted? Oh, yes! And sometimes when they won, it was embarrassing for the owners.
