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LIKE THE GOOD OLD DAYS BROOKLYN HANDICAP LIST BAROMETER OF REVIVED INTEREST IN RACING. Unusual Number of Three-Year-Olds One of the Interesting Features — Possibly Partly Due to Decreased Distance of Event. By Etl Cole. New York. February 18. — When a complete list of entries for the Brooklyn Handicap is made up it will look much like the Brooklyn of "ye olden time." Not in years has there been such a gathering of class in the nominations. What is a trifle strange is the extraordinary number of three -year-olds entered. This no doubt is due to the enormous number of young horses, fat-parted anil domistie. that are in training and the additional fact of the race only being over a mile and an eighth course, instead of a mile anil a quarter as it was when decided over the old Grnvoseiitl track. The shorter distance gives the younger horses a better chance — in fact last year it went to the good three-year-old Friar Rock by beating Pennant, a five-year-old. Previous to this few three-year-olds had been sacceeafal over the longer stretch of ground. Coiuo.v lKing the first to win. and his victory was conceded to be tlue to the slow condition of the go.ng. Irish Lad won on his merits antl beat good horse,. but he was a phenomenal horse. Superman is another horse that won owing to the mud. but in 1MB Celt won. beating Fair Play and Master Robert, all three being three-year-olds. Thai was a leiiail latatlag race up to that time. the distance being covered in 2AHl:.. The time araa lowered to S:M the following year by King James, a four-year-old carrying 12li pounds. May Be Three -Year -Old Year. Reference is made to this" races to shew that even over the longer course a real good three-year-old would be considered a possibility against what might be termed good handicap hor-e s, but n would have to be an rXBCptteaal three-year-old to beat high -class handicap horses. At a mile and an eighth, however, tie possibilities of a three-year-old are far more encouraging and. notwithstanding the excellent quality of some of the older horses iu the race, it will not be beyond the depth of imagination to see the young horses play fag prominent parts at the finish of this years Brooklyn. Not only will the Brooklyn Handicap be a feature at the Aqueduct meeting, but the Brooklyn Derby should prove a sensational race if only the good beta a catered stand up. A meeting of Hourless. Campfire. VFesty Hogan. North Star, and other of the notables in that division, should be an event of more than special concern to horsemen and patrons. There are many foreign entries in the list of nominations of which little is known, antl some of them may develop into performers of real merit. Trainee lamm Bowe will unquestionably show a big hand. Rickety is said to lie a hummer ami he is not the only one that will carry the Whitney colors. All things considered, the nominations for the ■taki s at all tracks this year show a decided tea-deary for tin- better as regard improvement iu the qnaUty of horses, compared with the fields of the past few years. Wars Effect on Importations. There is a belief that if the war was over it would stop the flood of thoroughbreds that have beea flowing this way since 1914. On this subject. "Vigilant." in the London Sportsman, says: "In the first place, until shortly before the time of the passing of the repressive Hart - Agmv. law in the States. America had for many years been annually increasing hoi importations of blootlsto- k from tht I nit d Kingdom. In proof of thfa let me iw.i.it tut that in volume IS or the Stud Book, published in lst 7. the names of fifty-four boraea in! 151 mans and fillies are given BS being exported to the St: tes during the previous four years. olume Id. pabUsbed in lMfc, shows a big increase, for al-o during the previous four years no fewer than 14 horses antl 287 marts found their way across the Atlantic. "Surely enough, this shows that but for the drastic anti betting legislation of seven or eight years ago there would have been no check to the demand for British and -Itish thoroughbreds, wldle owins[ to the aerfaaa depletion of the stock of thoroughbreds in the States, caused by the temporary success of th ■ anti -gambling faddist* out tl ere. it will take a number of years yet befare their stock of horses is aleuately replenishnl. "Even then the Catted States, in order to keep their horses at their highest level of excellence, must have Constant recourse to the part nt stock. Without constant drafts from the English fountain bead, the experiences of tin- fast century have ahawa that the American blood bene deteriorates. The best performers on the race course in the State-. With rare exceptions, are those with British blood closeup in their pedigrees. "Naturally one tannot expect to find the demand in the States far our blood stock t ■ be continued Indefinitely in the present abnormal fashion, but the more racing flourishes •across the hen fag pond. thi more we can look forward with confidence when normal time ; arrive pace more to a steadily growing trade for the simple reaaea that the greater their stack of thoreaghfatda becaawa tin- more oftra will it become rWffsaary to introduce fresh infusions of English b.oo 1."
