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ADD TONE TO CHARACTER OF RACING Presence of Expert Veterinarian in Paddock Will Tend to Eliminate Many Ills Now Prevalent. NEW YORK, N. Y., October 4. The appointment of an expert veterinarian by the various associations racing under the jurisdiction, of the Jockey Club has met with the unqualified approval of all those who believe that racing tests should be held only under conditions when the horses engaged are thoroughly trained and when their bodily condition is such that the danger of accident is reduced to a minimum. It is essential for the best interests of the sport that unsound animals, particularly those that have been nerved, should be under the strictest scrutiny, and if a law forbidding the participation of any nerved horse in trials of speed should be formulated it would be favored by a vast majority of those who are interested in breeding and racing. The operation known as "nerving" destroys all feeling in the afflicted member, and it has been frequently resorted to in the past on some of our best horses. Hanover, one of the greatest thoroughbreds of his day, was so treated when his usefulness on the track became impaired through chronic lameness which baffled veterinary skill. He won many races afterward for the Dwyer Brothers, but his career in the stud was cut short as a result of the treatment, the dead foot becoming so diseased that Col. Milton Young of the McGrathiana Farm, for whom the horse earned a fortune, was compelled to liave him destroyed. "Numerous other cases of a similar nature might be cited; but that of Hanover, a horse which has done more for the thoroughbred in America than any horse since the time of Diomed, will be sufficient. His blood is in the veins of our best present-day thoroughbreds, and his daughter, Rhoda B., taken to Ireland by Richard Croker. when mated with Orme through the Derby winner Orby, founded a family of great race horses abroad. Without doubt Hanovers usefulness as a stock horse was cut short from five to ten years, and the loss to the bloodstock interests of the United States is almost incalculable. Witli a reputable and competent veterinarian in the paddock one whose sole interest lies in keeping the stewards thoroughly posted on conditions and who has no outside practice to influence or prejudice his vision the character of the racing should take on an added tone. Many cripples whose usefulness in racing has passed and whose presence on the course is a menace to life and limb would be refused permission to start. The Jockey Club is constantly on the alert to promote the quality of the sport in the Empire State, and this newest move is along the same lines which prompted Francis Hitchcock to give notice of motion for an amendment to the rules of racing at the annual meeting in January which would do away with the use of toes and heels on racing plates. Should the amendment be written into the rules it is to be hoped that the Jockey Club will follow the example of the French authorities and place in the paddock at all our courses a case containing samples of "fair" and "unfair" plates. With this precaution taken, those guilty of violating the regulations should have no excuse when caught red-handed in a practice which has been responsible for much of the inconsistent racing, especially over muddy courses, and which has been responsible for the crippling and destruction of many of our best horses in the past.
