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FRENCH RACING ON EXTENSIVE SCALE Will Follow the Termination of tho War Is tho Opinion of Fred Burlew. By J. R. Jeffery. Saratoga, X. Y., Aug. 7. Fred Burlew, who recently returned to this country from France with a consignment of yearlings belonging to Clarence Mackay that are destined for the sales ring here this month, is firmly of the opinion that it will not be long after the termination of the great war before racing is resumed on an extensive scale in France. French racing will be resumed at the earliest possible moment, he believes, because the French people are alive to its value as a national -asset. That nowhere is the thoroughbred better appreciated than in France is the conclusion he has reached after a residence of some ten years in that country. The French prize tho thoroughbred quite as much from an economic standpoint as because of its potential value as a factor in providing the proper sort of mounts for the army. Mr. Burlew learned while abroad that the French racing societies under whose auspices the sport is conducted so admirably, all have handsome balances on hand to draw upon when the proper time comes for a resumption of racing. They have expended something like 00,000 this year in conducting the private racing tests designed to determine which stallions may be most advantageously used for breeding purposes. This information, is it universally conceded in France, can be obtained only by applying the exacting test of the race course. Thoroughbred Stock Not Depleted. The thoroughbred stock of France has not been depleted by the war, Mr. Burlew, reports. All of the great breeding establishments ot the country are being maintained, just as in more fortuitous times. The government at the beginning of the war, commandeered some thoroughbreds, but nowadays nothing is being taken unless the owner of the stock is quite willing to sell at the price set by the government authorities. The prices offered are quite satisfactory in most cases. Only geldings are taken, the authorities being anxious that the breeding stock should remain intact. - One result of this wise policy of conservation is that there are today more thoroughbred marcs in France than ever before. Americans who are still maintaining extensive breeding establishments in France include Messrs. W. K. Vanderbilt, John Sunford, August Belmont, C, H. Mackay. J E, Widener, J"; :ot Hitchcock, Frank Gould, T. P. Thome and Mrs II. B. Duryea. The produce of several of these establishments has already been seen on American race courses, and more will continue to be brought here until the war is over, in all probability. Of the considerably colony of American jockeys in France at the outbreak of tho war, several are still there, including Frank ONeill, Matt McGee and Guy Garner. ONeill is still attached to the Vanderbilt stable and recently made a special trip to Spain to ride a horse for King Alphonso. McGee is under contract to Baron Edward Rothschild. Mr. Burlew believes, from the information he was able to glean while abroad, that Spain will continue to play a prominent part in racing, even when French racing is again in full swing. Plans are in the making, he says, for a great international meeting each year at San Sebastian to replace the similar fixtures scheduled before the war at Baden-Baden, in Germany. Mr. Burlew, who has been in the employ of Mr. Mackay for a year or two, expects to return to France in the near future.
