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. . c t Here and There a on the Turf Racing in Chicago Again. Peter Manning Some Trotter. j Thoroughbred Blood Infhien- tial. j Today is marked by the resumption of Chicago racing. Outside of the ill-starred meeting of 1916 at Hawthorne, this great city has been deprived of its one-time favorite diver- 1 sion since 1904. As human life runs that is a i long time. In the intention of those who are now reviving the sport it has come back to stay. Something more than that in intention is required. The prime requirement is that the thousands in Chicago, who annually go elsewhere to view the fleet and beautiful thoroughbred in action, shall now rally loyally to the support of the present meeting and by their patronage make it such a success that racing here in the future will be assured. It may be taken for granted that the enemies of the sport will do all they can to wreck the present venture. Then why should not its ardent friends and admirers rally to its defense and support? None of the great blazing stars of racing I is to take part in tho Hawthorne racing of ; this year. No one well informed expects anything of the kind. But the horses gathered I at the old track are thoroughbred. They can race and race well. If the local patrons will make up their minds to do the best they can 1 with what is provided they will find their entertainment is entirely satisfying. Be sure 5 there will be many a bitterly contested and 1 thrilling finish in the course of the two weeks 3 of racing at Hawthorne. The most famous 3 horses in the land could provide nothing better. . This afternoon one of the greatest horses , of turf history will be applauded wildly when he returns from his gallop against the track record at a mile and a quarter. The name of Exterminator is a household word now and every bit of noisy adulation that may be rendered him will be no more than his due. But that homage to the horse should be supplemented - by a similar tribute to his owner, , Willis Sharpe Kilmer. Alone among the prominent - owners of the American turf he was s sufficiently broadminded as to join in attempting to bring about the restoration of the Chicago racing field. Chicagoans will not forget t that he did not merely send a horse here. He e sent the best he had, and no man owns better than that best. He sent Exterminator, and will be at the track himself this afternoon to 0 help the good cause along by his presence. If he is not awarded a suitable tribute of cheers s this afternoon it will be a blot on the reputation i- of Chicago patrons of racing. C e t! t A 11 h a at C 0 of 0 f . s t 1 S I i c t a j j 1 i I ; I 1 5 1 3 3 . , - , - s t e 0 If s i- Peter Manning trotted a mile in 1 :57 at Columbus Thursday afternoon. It is the fastest mile that has ever been trotted. While he was giving this sensational performance against time there was a thrilling polo game in which the Eastcott players defeated Meadow Brook Another happening of the day was the win- ning of a blue ribbon for thoroughbred saddle horses by Mrs. Payne Whitneys Web Carter the Mineola Horse Show. And all three of these occurrences did not cause much of a ripple among the devotees the thoroughbreds, though in each the thor- oughbred plays a most important part. The thoroughbred is the parent progenitor of the trotter. The best polo ponies and the best saddle horses all have a considerable proportion of the thoroughbred in their blood lines. The thoroughbred has been declared the most suitable sire to improve the breed of army horses and at no time was his influence on the hunter even questioned. It is well to consider the wide field of endeavor of the thoroughbred. He is not and never was merely racing tool. He is the one horse calculated to improve the breed and his triumphs, apart from racing, are the triumphs that bring home this quality. The race course is the only -testing ground for the thoroughbred himself, but that is a test as to which is the best thoroughbred, but all of them by reason of their blood lines improve other breeds by judicious mating. In Locust Valley, almost within a stones throw of the beautiful Piping Rock Club, is the grave of Messenger. It is surrounded by immense oaks and the form of a fitting monument to the. horse that did more to establish the American trotter than any other stallion. And Messenger was a cleanly bred thoroughbred. There have been other thoroughbred sires of trotters and pacers, but Messenger was the founder of the breed and, to this day, the harness horse with the greatest percentage of thoroughbred blood has dominated. Many of the most famous of polo ponies are thoroughbred, while it is almost impossible to find any that do not have a liberal percentage of thor-bred blood. The influence of the thoroughbred in the hunting field and in saddle horses is not questioned. As for Web Carter himself, the Mineola winner, he is well knoyjn to racing. This old fellow is a son of Mentone and Amphora and is now eighteen years old. He did his bit through the steeplechase field under the popular silks of the Greentree Stable. He followed this with a full measure of successes as hunter, and now at his advanced age he is still a prize winner. The thoroughbred is surely a versatile animal. It would be well if there was a closer bond between the running and the harness turf, when their interests run along the same lines. But the two sports are as far apart as the poles. They both have to do with fine health giving sport. They are dependent upon horses for their entertainment and the thoroughbred be-longs strictly to each, yet they have never been brought together as they should be. Many of the most successful of thoroughbred trainers were graduated from the trotting turf, but invariably when the deserters come from the other it is an absolute divorce. Some few have left the running turf for the trotting turf and the divorce has been just as absolute. would be possible to walk through any pad- dock and pick out trainer after trainer who at one time had followed the trotting turf. There may not be as many deflections from the running turf to the trotting turf, but one notable example is Nat Ray, some years back the foremost steeplechase rider in this country. He shared in many of the triumphs of the Thomas Hitchcock silks, where they played such an important part in cross-country racing, and Good and Plenty, with Nat Ray the saddle, was an unbeatable combination. Ray has since swung over to harness racing and has taken with him all the success that was his while riding over the sticks. r 1 2 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 1 2 2 j 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 I ; l I , f 1 . 1 j 1 j a l a j 3 r !" r y L" e t It j. I" is 13 y y in n 1 g l
