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BAR AGAINST GELDINGS i. z May Serve to Increase Number of Horses for Breeding Purposes. t i Progressive Turfmen Indorse the Movement Against Unchecked Castration, i BY. C. .T. FITZ GERALD. NEW YORK, X. Y., September 0. The degree of interest manifested in the Saratoga Cup, though it had but two starters, is an indication that the American public favor trials of speed over a long distance of ground, and are in entire sympathy -with t lie Jockey Olnb in its endeavor to promote weight-for-age racing. It was unfortunate from a breeding standpoint that a gelding should have been returned the victor, but the fact remains that Exterminator is a fast and game race horse and only fate prevented the son of McGee and Fair Empress from passing on Ills qualities to posterity. His lineage is a blend of stout English and American blood; in fact, he has more sturdy native strains in his make-up than .his rival. Purchase, whose sire and dam are both by English horses. The fact that geldings will be ineligible for some of the most valuableprizes::of-thfiUulpVvvill serve to increase the number of horses for stud purposes throughout the country. Trainers in the past have been tempted to resort to castration because geldings are easier to train than entire horses, and individuals of uncertain temper arc improved to disposition by being unsexed. Many gross horses whose legs will not withstand a severe campaign . are made useful racing material by the change. There is a strong undercurrent against the movement to bar the. gelding from some of our best races, but one the whole the plan has the indorsement of a majority of our most progressive turfmen, who believe that while the gelding has his sphere in racing, he has no right to participate in the greatest of the tests, which are given for the guidance of the breeders of tlie country. In steeple-chasing they have a field peculiarly their own. GELDING UNKNOWN ABROAD. The gelding is unknown in many foreign countries, and some years ago, when C. K. G. Billings champion trotter Uhlan. l:uand, was shown in Russia, the breeders of that country were indignant at his spoliation, and wanted to know who had dared to deprive future generations of the qualities of such a splendid horse. Stallions and mares work in the same teams the year round in Russia. Usage has made the males tractable and it is a rare thing to find a vicious horse. It is asserted by some that many undesirable horses will be sent into public service under the new conditions, but this contention is met with a statement that the situation will be handled by the exercise of a greater degree of care by all those who have to do with any movement for general purpose horse improvement. There is no fear that poor specimens of the thoroughbred will find their way into the large privately conducted breeding establishments. There is danger, however, that with the country at large turning toward the horse of blood for its top cross in the production of hordes for remount and general utility purposes sires that are not desirable may be selected for service in rural communities. The solution of this problem would come through close supervision by either federal of state authorities. The sort- of inspection which the remount . commission and the brfeding-bureau of the Jockey Club are exercising at the present time would seem to insure adequate protection to the farmers and breeders of the country. The present day demand for stallions of the type needed at the remount stations of the federal government is insistent and members of the commission having in charge their selection are unceasing in their search for the right type. Such experts as Thomas Hitchcock and F. Ambrose Clark have selected one in five on an average, and as a result Uncle Sams breeding venture lias begun auspiciously. The fact that there has been but little money available for the purchase of good horses has made the task -of the commission exceedingly difficult, and most of the lest horses secured to date have been gifts from breeders and turfmen in sympathy with the movement, and also from the Jockey Club, whose chairman, August Itelmout, gave the nucleus of what is now the Front Royal Stud in Virginia. Given an appropriation such .as Count Lehnorff of the Royal Prussian Stud had at his disposal and the rest would be easy, as there are horses racing every day on metropolitan courses that would be ideal for the purpose. It is related that the count, while on a visit to England, saw the famous sprinter Lollypop in action with big weight up. "Just the horse to give our German cavalry horses more speed," was his comment, and he straightway negotiated the purchase of the animal for 0,000. It was the same spirit which caused him to pay almost 00,000 for the Epsom Derby winner Ard Patrick.
