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REVERED RACING LOVERS George Washington and Andrew Jackson Eariy Participants Both Bred and Raced Their Own Horses Absence of Preju ¬ dice in Their Day NEW YORKN Y April 9 The sport of horse racing will be in full swing on the Jockey Club tracks in less than a month and from present indi ¬ cations the season of 19U1 will surpass in interest uid popular appeal any enjoyed hereabouts since the golden days of the turf in the period immedi ¬ ately preceding 1908 1908Chief Chief among the charms of racing has always been its democracy The horse is the thing today just as he was in the time of George Washington and Andrew Jackson Both of these presidents of the United States were loyal supporters of the turf They bred and raced their own horses and history records the fact that the former acted as si judge at the Newmarket course near Charleston South Carolina on one occasion Washington was a fearless horseman and hunted regularly until late in life his stable being noted for the number and quality of the horses it contained containedAndrew Andrew Jackson was a patron of the turf long before he became president and raced a formidable stable which included Truxton a horse of which lie was exceedingly proud and with which he had won a match for 5000 a side against Greyhound After Jackson was inaugurated president he brought Ills horses to the capital and in 1834 trained them personally It is recorded that VicePresidcnt and Mrs Van Buren were present at some of the morn ¬ ing trials which were supervised with character ¬ istic impetuosity by Jackson wlio was noted for the high quality of his temper temperThe The Washington course was built in 1802 and YHS about two miles from the capitol It was operated by a jockey club and among its members were the most distinguished men of the period The races over it were regularly attended by the presidents from Jefferson to Van Buren John Quincy Adams on one occasion walked to and from the course surrounded by the equipages of the wealthy wealthyIn In commenting on the fascination which racing had for the great men of the day and of the earlier period of the Union Editor Skiimor of the Turf Register had the following to say in 1833 1833General General Washington and General Jackson are examples of the fondness that great military men have generally entertained for the horse and the sports of the turf Though equally bold and grace ¬ ful riders in the field General Jackson was most successful on the course The racing annals of the West record his numerous victories and according to the anecdotes which arc told of him he some ¬ times intimidated his adversaries by the boldness of lefiance where ftc might not have won by the speed or bottom of his horse horseOne One of Jacksons closest friends was the Rev II M Cryer a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church who was a breeder of thoroughbred horses suul raced one of them in the name of his partner Tol George Elliott The reverend gentleman was charged with horse racing and was summoned be ¬ fore the tribunal and asked if ho had anything to say in his defense Nothing was his reply except that I would like to have you let me know how I can arrange it for my half of the horse to stand in the stable while Colonel Klliotts half is racing The horse belongs to us jointly He has the same right to control him as I have and he will race him and I cannot keep him from it It is needless to record the fact that Mr Cryer was acquitted acquittedThat That there was an absence of prejudice against the turf in its earliest days it is mentioned In the Catholic Churchman published at Annapolis in 1744 that among the legitimate pastimes of the population which met with the aproval of the church itself was the new one of racing horses which had grown to be highly popular among the gentry of the country countryThere There are those today who believe that the turf of the present clay is on the eve of a greater measure of support than it has received for some years
