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CANADA OUTLOOK BRIGHT « . Racing Season for 1922 Opens in Montreal on May 6. ♦ ■ Control of Sport Throughout the Dominion Well Within Hands of Canadians. « ♦ MONTREAL, Quebec, April 23.— With the I ftdvent of spring come the preparations for lacing throughout the Dominion of Canada. The !;rst meeting will be inaugurated in the Province of Quebec, being scheduled to open In Montreal on Saturday, May 6, over a week earlier than racing has ever started on a Canadian track. With more settled conditio;..; the outlook for the thoroughbred in Canada this year is brighter than at the commencement of any meeting for years. There has been less agitation against racing during the winter months than previously and, with the government well in control of the Eport, racing should thrive as it has not done for a long time. The sport a year ago was brought under almost perfect control. The representatives of the Itoyal Canadian Mounted Police rendered great assistance. They look charge in the mutuel plants, as well as around the various courses at which racing was conducted. The class of horses raced throughout Canada a year ago was superior to any for a number of years past. The races tilled better than in previous years, while the Cana-dian-bred horse came into its own. This was | I shown by the splendid entry to be found each day in races for Canadian-bred and Canadian-owned horses. Even on the smaller tracks the races for CaiiarUan-bred horses fdled the limit of the number allowed to start and each race brought forth a stirring finish. This was a good demonstration that Canadians have become more successful in their efforts at • breeding and this year is sure to bring about • even better results. FNCOERAGIXG CANADIAN BREEDING. , Greater encouragement has been given to Canadian-bred horses each year by the various racing associations and particularly was . that so in 1921. In the Province of Quebec : the Quebec Breeders and Pacing Association i donated a percentage of the revenue from i ..■■:■. meeting to the upkeep of the National I Bureau of Breeding, with headquarters at Montreal. The Canadian Pacing Associations, the _ senior racing body in Canada, and under . : whose rules all races are run, donated a percent . ige to a fund from each meeting and I a, the conclusion of the racing season a l number of thoroughbreds were imported I from England with a view to improving the breed of horses in Canada. Those stallions J are Standing in the stud this spring for the Aral time and within two years their get t will be distributed throughout the dominion. The control of racing is now well within i i the hands of Canadians. Each year for the I past two or three has found a greater number of Canadian officials in the stands at the various tracks, and that number will be again i increased this summer. In recent years Canadians have been educated as officials by r filling minor positions, until now the racing » bodies are enabled to find men in Canada 1 to lake their places with the best of the 5 American officials in conducting the sport. GENERAL INCREASE IN PURSES. With a view to attracting a better class of f horses and bringing about greater friendly ,- rivalry between owners of the United States s and tanada in races there has been a general 1 increase announced in the purses almost 1 throughout Canada. The greatest of Canadian events, the Kings Plate race, run in the spring at Woodbine e Park. Toronto, and the Kings Plate race, run in the autumn at the Blue Bonnets 3 course Montreal, will have an increased value again this year. The Ontario Jockey Club of Toronto has already announced the increase to 0,000, while the Montreal Jockey r Club will no doubt announce the increase e for the event run at Blue Bonnets later in n the season. These events are for Canadian-bred horses and. judging from the entry in n the Ontario Kings Plate this year, the increase in value of the stake from year to year is bringing about the desired effect. Several of the clubs, members of the Canadian ,- Pacing Associations, have done away • with stake events and have replaced them ■ with overnight handicaps of a high value. *• Handicaps have become more popular with h horsemen than stakes and the fields in such h events are brought together in a better manner than conditioned stake races, which invariably have one outstanding horse over a a small band of opponents. There is now a a better class of horses owned in Canada than n Continued ou second page. . ■ . - - . " 1 ■ " - l * CANADA OUTLOOK BRIGHT Continued from first page. for a great many years. This is accounted for by a number of owners, who had allowed their stables to become run down from a breeding standpoint, importing and purchasing horses in Great Britain and the United Slates. The owners of the greatest number of imported horses are the stables owned by tb.e Seagrams of Waterloo, Ontario, and J. K. L. Boss of Montreal. Racing on the Canadian Racing Associations tracks will be inaugurated in Toronto at Woodbine Park on Saturday, May 20. From Woodbine the thoroughbreds will be shipped to Ottawa, then on to Montreal for Dor%-al and Blue Bonnets, after which a return will be made to the Ontario tracks, where Canadian Racing Associations racing will continue in Ontario until the autumn, when it will be resumed at Dorval and Blue Bonnets. Racing under the Quebec Breeders and Racing Association will open in Montreal in May and will be continued until the end of September. That period will also include racing in the city of Quebec, where it was resumed last year with a fair amount of success. Quebec City lias asked for a • resumption of racing after an absence of a . great many years and the request has been I granted. Racing throughout Canada is now held under the rules of the Canadian Racing Associations, they being adopted by the Western ■ Racing Associations, which includes Vancouver ■ and Victoria, B. C, and the Quebec Breeders and Racing Association, which controls the majority of the tracks in the prov- ince of Quebec. With a working agreement between the governing bodies and those of ; the United States, undesirables in racing are eliminated, with the result that the sport has been placed on a firmer and better foun- [ dation. Under these conditions there is no opportunity for trainers, owners or riders committing infractions of racing laws at one place continuing in the sport by moving to another. A year ago the racing association t ; ruled in strict manner and the power of the j officials is likely to be increased this year. which is an assurance of even better and [ keiier sport. Horsemen have already commenced to ar- . rive in Canada from winter racing centers, which means that work of preparing the horses for the early meetings will commence at an early date. Even now the horses which j have been wintered in Canada are doing early f training work at Woodbine Park and at I some of the courses in Montreal. As an early preparation for the opening I of their casnpaigfl in Canada a number of c Canadian owners have shipped to Maryland, , which will offer good opportunities for getting the Canadian-wintered horses ready . without the usual rushing tactics in training . which are so detrimental to the condition of [ the thoroughbred and have the tendency to * break down horses which start the season i in sound condition. _ — . o
