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J K L ROSS SPORTSMANLIKE VIEWS Favors longDistance Races and Barring of Geldings from Principal Stake Races By C J Fitz Gerald GeraldSaratoga Saratoga Springs X Y August 17 Commander J K L Ross of Canada who owns Cudgel Billy Kelly and other good horses is enjoying a weekend at this point and lie is in love with Saratoga and its environment Although the commanders active participation in the racing and breeding of thor ¬ oughbreds did not commence until five or six years ago he is a keen student of the science of horse production and his views as a stranger within our gates on matters pertaining to the horse of blood should be of interest lie maintains an extensive stud at Vercheres in the neighborhood of Mon ¬ treal and has been a liberal purchaser both at home and abroad of the best blood available availableThat That was a long step in the right direction the stewards of the Jockey Club too at their recent meeting was his comment a few days since There has long l een a fear that the American thoroughbred was retrograding because of the prev ¬ alence of sprint races on your programs and this new order of things calling for a nice at a mile and a quarter or over every other day is just the sort of tonic the turf needed How could we expect our horses to stay under former conditions We havc been i erpetuating a breed of sprinters Like produces like A horse shouldnt be expected to transmit a quality he doesnt possess possessThese These races over a long distance of ground are going to demonstrate that many of our horses at present unsuspected of possessing bottom have an abundance of it It will bring about material changes in our system of training horses The mat ¬ ter of petting an nnimal ready to run far as well as fast calls for more skill than the preparation for a sprint and the change should be welcomed by those men who learned their profession at a time when long distance races were si feature of every meeting meetingI I have heard it said continued the commander that the long distance races would not fill but while thnt condition might exist for a period I believe that the innovation will become popular in a short time The public would be in favor of it certainly as the best horses should win in a majority of in ¬ stances and aside from any other consideration it should be of untold value to our horse product and after all that is the purpose for which we are rac ¬ ing and breeding thoroughbreds thoroughbredsMORE MORE MONEY FOR LONGDISTANCE RACES RACESIf If races of a mile and a quarter or over had more added money than other overnight races there would be an incentive for owners and trainers to point their charges for such tests and it Is my belief that horses would train longer as the strain of sprint races lasts from the instant the barrier goes up while in the longer races only a portion of the journey is covered at top speed I would like to see a meeting of the character of Saratoga give a series of long distance races beginning at a mile and a quarter on the opening day and increas ¬ ing in distance up to two miles and a quarter which is recognized as the Cup route These could be spread over the entire month of August and their popularity I am certain would be so thoroughly established that a trial along similar lines would be held elsewhere elsewhereBy By this method resumed the visitor from the Dominion breeders throughout the country would get a line on those thoroughbreds that were capable of standing up under something more searching than the sprints with which the racing programs of today are studded Breeding would thus become less of a lottery and the country at large would be benefited tremendously as horsemen would know what pitfalls to avoid With your government tin dertaking the production of its own remounts and the Jockey Clubs Breeding Bureau enlarging its scope the movement for longer races should have the wholehearted support of every man who loves a good horse and wants to see plenty of them avail ¬ able for cavalry and artillery as well as for the usages of peace peaceI I believe that horse breeding in the United States would be greatly stimulated if a percentage of every stake went to the breeder of the winner and if the breeders of the second and third horses also received a bonus however small the industry would thrive amazingly in my opinion We have several stake features in Canada where the breeder is compensated and it lias been helpful I am told that your Futurity which has always been a popular event lias this provision You cant en ¬ courage the breeder too much The disposition to bar geldings from the im ¬ portant stake races is another movement that should make for progress in blood horse production I would not bar the gelding from handicaps or over ¬ night races but that is where lie belongs and not in the stakes stakesA A sportsmanlike sentiment the above coming from a man who within a few days had paid 27500 for a gelding
