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FINEST TESTIMONIAL TO THE HORSE Great Crowds at the Races a Tribute to the Thor ¬ oughbred and Faith in the Sport NEW YORK N Y June S This is the finest testimonial that we have had paid to the thorough ¬ bred horse in my time was the comment of Major August Belmont president of the Westchester Racing Association and chairman of The Jockey Club as he stood in the stewards stand at Belmont Park on Decoration Day after the heartstirring finish for the Toboggan Handicap HandicapRefore Refore him the vast lawn was thronged witii spectators while the grandstand tier upon tier was a sea of eager faces The clubhouse and its gen ¬ erous lawn had no vacant spaces Taking in the vast assemblage witli a sweeping gesture he con ¬ tinued The presence of so many of our best Pfeple here today is not only a tribute to the horse lut an evidence of their faith in the sport and those who are responsible for its conduct It amply npays owners trainers and all others connected with the turf for the sacrifices made when the sit ¬ uation was blacklist It should stimulate every man interested in racing no matter from what angle ho may view it to give greater efforts to its promo ¬ tion so that many more lovers of clean outdoor sport may get a more intimate acquaintance with the thoroughbred horse horseI I am impressed by the size of this gathering but in looking over it continued The Jockey Clubs chairman the thought has been uppermost that we have many recruits of a most desirable character to racing this season Perhaps the war has had some ¬ thing to do with this Much has been told in written words in spoken words on the lecture plat ¬ form and through the medium of the picture screen o the part the horse played in the great conflict They have seen him at work and at play and they hnve also seen him ie for his country The result as I see it is in an increased interest in the hor e and particularly the thoroughbred whose part in the production of cavalry remounts is so well known knownIf If some of those who have made it their life work to meddle with the pleasures of the people would view this scene today without bias could ningle wjth iliemaKKc oaMiirfnbbesonr vnf the spirit which has brought them here there would I am sure be a clearer conception of the fundamentals of racing and a better understanding all around It would be idle to say that this throng was actuated in coming to Belmont Park by a desire to speculate on the chances of this or that horse to beat his competitors There is something bigger and broader at the bottom and I believe it is a luve to see these splendid horses in the racing tests without which our breeding experiments would be aimless aimlessThe The English Derby run at Epsom on Wednesday is a fine illustration of the value of these trials of sreeil and stamina as a guide to breeding Hnm merkop a famous longdistance mare which had won more than 50000 in stakas for her owner most of her races at from a mile and threequar ¬ ters to two miles and a half when mated witli Spearmint a winner of the Derby and the Grand Prix de Paris gave the world Spion Kop a three yearold that not only was good enough to win the blue riband of the turf but establish a new rec ¬ ord for the race as well wellOn On Saturday last when Man o War won the Withers Stakes the crowd surpassed any previous gathering here when that stake was decided Thousands of horse lovers who had read about Man o War but had never seen him came along with other thousands who were as familiar with his genealogy as I am because they were going to see in action what the critics pronounce the best of his age at this present day dayPausing Pausing a moment and taking in the orderly welldressed assemblage which packed every nook iid cranny of the plant Major Belmont concluded with emphasis and the best part of it all is that we have won this fight for the horse without the aid of the parimutuel The people maintain tin sixirt and enable us to offer these prizes It is tieir contributions at the gate which have made this sort of thing possible
