Here and There on Turf, Daily Racing Form, 1922-10-08

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Here and There on the Turf Lord Lonsdales Delayed Day. Laurels Claiming Methods. Hunt Meeting Affairs. Army Remount Stallions Are Needed. "Lord Lonsdales first classic victory was received with tremendous enthusiasm, and he was overwhelmed with congratulations, one of the first to greet him being Princess Mary." The foregoing from an English newspaper briefly touches on one of the real romances of racing. Lord Lonsdale is not only one of Englands greatest nobles, a man of affairs and vast wealth, but he has long been one of its notable turfmen, with a singular record of unvarying bad luck and scanty returns for costly investments in high-bred young horses. Year in and year out for a long time he has been a buyer of high-priced yearlings, nearly all of which proved blanks in the lottery of racing. All of this he has borne with the steadfast fortitude of a real gentleman. This has been so generally recognized and understood that it is no wonder his success was enthusiastically applauded when at last he was vouchsafed the exultant joy of leading in the winner of so great a turf prize as this years Doncaster St. Leger. The colt Royal Lancer, which won this triumph for him, was bred in the National Stud, to which one-third of the value of the St. Leger reverts. As the net value of the race this year was 9,050 the national treasury was benefited by a sum well worth receivitg. Word comes from Laurel to New York that the confining of claims in claiming races to those who have starters in the race only applies to the steeplechases. This is merely following the rules of the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association. The rules of this association were not amended when the Jockey Club changed the rule governing claiming in flat racing. It seems to have been a mistake not to have followed the lead of the Jockey Club, but the old way is still the rule of the Natoinal Steeplechase and Hunt Association, and the jumping racing at Laurel is being conducted under those rules. Just why the improvement in the rule by the Jockey Club was not taken up by the governing body of cross-country racing has not been disclosed. Entries that were received for the Huntingdon Valley Hunt races speak volumes for amateur racing and its popularity. Six races filled exceedingly well and it is assured that this truly sporting meeting will be tremendously successful. It is just this amateur racing that has brought many a recruit to the American turf and its meetings should be fostered. Time was when there were several of them every year on Long Island, but since the war and its serious inroads on the ranks of the amateur sportsmen, these meetings have gradually been abandoned. This year there is to be a revival of the Meadowbrook Cup, and that is a good sign, but there should be other revivals on Long Island. Pennsylvania has made great strides in this amateur racing and some of the meetings that are now conducted in that sate have assumed real importance. Such racing docs a real missionary work for the bigger turf and it is always a cheering sign of the times when they are successful. While the United States Army has had many donations of thoroughbred stallions, and it was generally supposed that now mares would, be the proper gift, it appears there is still a crying demand for more stock horses. This demand, according to Major Trowbridge, now in Chicago, comes from various states, and in all, he says, there are requests for 576 stallions. All of this means much to the thoroughbred horse and the thoroughbred industry. It demonstrates that the farmer has come to a realization of just what the thoroughbred means. Faraway Texas is asking for 91 and Arkansas has asked for 71. Other states that are clamoring for thoroughbred sires are New Mexico 47, Missouri 38, Oklahoma 36, Wyoming 31, Illinois 28 and Idaho 20. Funds are not available to anything like filling these orders and now is the time for sportsmen and breeders to make donations of horses. They could not be used to better advantage than in this big work, which means so much for the betterment of the breed. It at once widens the scope of the thoroughbred immensely and wherever a stallion is placed it makes friends for the breed. Many valuable donations have been made from time to time and they have done great good. That good is best shown by the constantly growing demand. It speaks well for the influence of the thoroughbred horse, and he cannot have too many friends.


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Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800