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Here and There on the Turf Rockminister Disadvantaged at Bowie. Trainer Healey in Poor Luck. Generous Offer for General Thatcher. New Yorks Racing Figures. Unless Rockminister shows Kay Spence much more than he did in his public performance in the mile and seventy yards of the Twin Cities Handicap on Thursday there would seem to be little reason for starting him in the Thanksgiving Handicap on the last day of the Bowie meeting. The son of Friar Rock and Mallard ran an especially disappointing race and it was one that would tend to show that some others in the big closing day feature have little to fear from the Jones colt over that track. Rockminister was taking up plenty of weight Thursday and giving away much, but there was time in the running of the race in which he gave the slightest evidence of his really high class. It is probable that Rockminister does not like the cuppy surface at Bowie and, if such is the case, there is little or no chance to teach him to race successfully in it. As a matter of fact, the Jones invasion of Bowie has not been as successful as was expected, for Oui Oui, after having beaten the best that could be mustered against her in the Walden Handicap at Pimlico, failed in her one race at Bowie. Fair Phantom has shown speed in her races, but Oui Oui, Rockminister and Pegasus each raced in a manner to make it seem that the going is to them a severe handicap. It is possible they will all help make their visit a profitable one before the end of the meeting, but not particularly probable. In the meantime, the Montfort Jones string has already added greatly to the tone of the Bowie racing, even though it has not cut the figure that j was confidently expected. Thomas T. Healey has had his full share of bad luck in the racing at Bowie, especially when two of the horses he sent to the post for Richard T. Wilson were left at the post. Wednesday it was the filly Duncecap. She was left flat-footed in the Annapolis Purse that fell to King Albert. Thursday it was Tangerine in the mile and a sixteenth of the Old Dominion Purse that was won by Copper Demon. Each of these seemed to have a chance to win in the opinion of many shrewd judges, but each was eliminated when the barrier rose. Sam Louis has the reputation of taking more horses out of selling races than any other one horseman, but he does not confine his buying to platers. He has a keen eye for a horse and his judgment of platers entered below their real value has frequently been vindicated. Now he would like to buy General Thatcher. It is a wide jump from the selling plater to the two times Bowie winner, but Louis offered Preston Burch 0,000 for the son of Sweep and Polistena. All of the horses Burch raced for the Nevada Stock Farm were for sale when they were turned over to him, but this offer was refused. Burch has made many, sales during the racing season and is to be congratulated that he did not sell this colt before he showed his real worth. Many agree with Burch that he is worth more than 130,000 as thoroughbred prices go for good ones. "There is no telling how good a colt General Thatcher is," is the remark one hears in the paddock now and, as far as Bowie racing is concerned, it is not an extravagant estimate. And many a good one is racing over the course, as the charts will testify. General Thatcher has shown everything -to suggest that he will be a good three-year-old. He has an abundance of speed, can take up weight, is game and capable of racing over a considerable distance of ground. In fact, as far as can be shown in two-year-old racing, he has shown a preference for a more than sprinting distance. He is a colt of size and substance and, unless all signs fail, should go on next year to greater deeds. A study of statistics of the New York field of racing for 1922 shows the healthy growth of the turf in its return to prosperity. Before racing received such a black eye in New York through adverse legislation, it had reached the crest wave under the Percy-Gray law. Then came the Agnew-Hart law and under it persecution was such that in 1911 and 1912 the various racing associations by mutual consent did not open their courses. Reconstruction is always through a long and trying period and that was what began in 1913, when racing returned to the state. That year the associations conducted racing at a considerable loss. Then, just when the sport began to recuperate, along came the war and it was a further handicap that for a term halted the promised prosperity. The associations went right along with racing and the length of the season gradually increased as conditions warranted an increase until for the 1922 season, recently closed, there were 154 days of the sport. Then, it must be remembered, that during this period of reconstruction competition from Maryland and Kentucky was constantly growing in strength through the revenue that came from the use of the pari-mutuel system of wagering. This enabled both sections to increase their stake races and purses to princely figures and, accordingly, bid for the best horses in training. Canada also had a like advantage. It was a handicap, but the sportsmen of New York accepted their losses stoically when racing was struggling to come back and then, as prosperity permitted, they built up purses and stakes until New York met all competition. New York has many that have something more than a monetary value. They have been institutions of the American turf for so long that their value is not measured in dollars and cents and a victory brings a degree of fame that is more prized by true sportsmen than the dollars that go to the. winner. These old fixtures will always enjoy that advantage and they will always keep New York in the forefront of American racing.
