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OPTIMISTIC OVER FUTURE OF RACING John E Madden Confident Turf Will Prosper Burins Readjustment Period Favors long Distances Lexington Ky November IS John E Madden master of Hamburg Place who has bred a greater number of race horses of the highest class than any man now engaged in the production of the thor ¬ oughbred has returned to his farm after a season in the east He believes in the future of racing and while he recognizes the handicaps under which it has labored during the period of the war is of the opinion that the men who have proved their loyalty to the government by giving their time and money for the good of the cause and necessarily have been forced to curtail their operations to considerable extent will continue to race on an elaborate scale after the readjustment of condi ¬ tions and will maintain the market values of the thoroughbred pastMr as they have done in the past Mr Madden says that sportsmen who have been the most liberal patrons of racing before the war have been prompted solely by their admiration for the thoroughbred and have raced with no view of gain consequently they have been the mainstay of the sport and any curtailment of their activities would have the effect of lessening the number of entries in stakes and would materially effect tin sales of the best of the yearling consignments to the spring ami autumn auctions auctionsHe He is confident that the sport will maintain it ¬ self even though there must be fewer men of means taking part in racing for a few years to come owing to the heavy taxes paid by the owners of the larger stables The men who follow the warm climates as he indicates the followers of rac ¬ ing who pursue it as a means of livelihood and con ¬ tinue their activities into the winter months at New Orleans and Cuba are essential but they do not maintain racing as do the men of large for ¬ tunes who can afford to indulge in the sport with ¬ out regard to cost costThe The master of Hamburg Place says the attendance at the eastern meetings lias lM en excellent greater in fact than could have been expected under the conditions that have existed during the war but la lias no hesitancy in saying that racing would lose much of the prestige it has gained from the sup ¬ port given it by men of affairs wlio conduct large stables without regard to cost should these decide to await the return of normal conditions after the period of adjustment is at an end endAccording According to Mr Madden nicing this year has furnished comparatively few genuine cracks race horses of the highest class ror while among tin twoyearolds Billy Kelly Eternal War Pennant Cirrus and Dunboyne have shown some degree of good class and have raced consistently during the year there has been generally speaking a lack of the best material in this division divisionAs As regards the threeyearolds the best are War Cloud and Johren which appear to be genuine stayers regardless of the fact that the first named ran several disappointing races is the opinion of the most extensive breeder and turfman in this country Jack Hare Jr and The Porter are speed marvels up to distances of one and onesixteenth miles Sun Briar in his judgment is a wonder ¬ fully fast liorse and yet not a stayer in the ac ¬ cepted sense of the term He thinks War Cloud when at the top of his form quite the equal to the best while Johren is little if any short of a real crack when in prime condition Mr Madden siys it is merely a matter of opinion as to the re ¬ spective merits of horses of different years am yet he lias no doubt that such a liorse as Salviderc which raced in his colors during the best part of his career was considerably superior to any horse of his age seen in colors this year yearAHEEICANBEED AHEEICANBEED AS GOOD AS ANY ANYIn In commenting on the subject of nativebred horses and those of strictly foreign blood the man who raced Hamburg Salvidere King James Plaudit David Garrick Yankee Blue Girl and others of merit and who bred Sir Martin the only American bred liorse to occupy the place of post favorite for the Epsom Derby says that the successes of such natives as Billy Kelly Eternal Dunboyne War Pennant and Cirrus the latter being by Tracery a Iiorse foaled in the United States dam a daughter of Meddler foaled when the son of St Gatien was standing in this country disprove any idea that may exist of the superiority of Pnglish over Ameri ¬ can blood He cites the caseof Billy Kelly which colt is by Dick Welles distinctly a nativebred dam a man by Free Knight from a daughter of Faiistus ill of which represent the blood of the American thoroughbred for several generations generationsIn In citing Eternal as an Americanbred Mr Mad ¬ den called attention to his sire Sweep the leading horse of the year among the sires of winner which is by Hen Brush a strictly native sire dam a daughter cf Domino all native blood whils the lam of Eternal Hazel Burke although by Sem pronius is from a strictly American family his dam being Itetained II by Hanover a native horse dam Iteclare by Iteform IteformMr Mr Madden whose experience with race horses is wider than that of any man living he having trained and driven trotters trained thoroughbreds and bred both sorts while his knowledge of the practical features of training and racing equals that of any man in this or any other country is a firm believer in the value of thoroughbred blood in producing cavalry remounts light artillery and mounted infantry horses and lias for many years been one of the warmest supporters of this blood with which to produce the type of horses of which the government stands in need needIn In speaking of racing and its influence over breeding Mr Madden said lie believed in long distance races and the improvement of the breed for he could see no benefit accruing to the govern ¬ ment bv the use of inferior horses such as selling Platers and while he realized that races must bo given for horses incapable of winning stakes or handicap there could be no improvement in the breed unless the best was maintained by giving races for horses of genuine ability and encouraging the production of stayers by making such races the rule rather than the exception exceptionMr Mr Madden has written several articles on the subject of the type of horse best suited for govern ¬ ment purposes and he has invariably taken the view that thoroughbred blood is absolutely neces ¬ sary in order to produce a type capable of gallop ¬ ing in jmy kind of going of carrying weight and of going 6n courageously
