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JOCKEY CLUB ASSISTANCE Always Available in Matter of Improvement of Horse. 9 Establishment, of Breeding Bureau First Step in Advancing Interest of Thoroughbred Its Progress and Success. NEW YORK, N. Y., December 18. The fact that the Jockey Club has always stood ready to help in the matter of horse improvement not only within the confines of New York State but in other parts of the country showing a disposition to carry on the work intelligently, has been a substantial asset for the chief governing body of the turf in the United States. Sixteen years ago the Breeding Bureau of the Jockey Club was formed. Its function was to help the horse breeders and farmers of the Empire State to. produce more and better horses of a type that would not only be useful on the farm, but would command a ready sale in the general market as riding and general purpose animals. Thoroughbred sires of fine conformation, sound and of good temper were placed in nearly every county in the commonwealth and substantial premiums were offered at fairs as an incentive for breeders to patronize blood horses to at least the same extent as the heavier breeds. It was an uphill battle at first, but the policy was persevered in until success beyond the expectations of the most sanguine was achieved by restricting the experiment to a region where nature was found as an ally in the production of grass and spring water from a limestone source. How the results achieved in the Genesee Valley challenged the attention and admiration of horse breeders everywhere and was adopted by the Federal authorities as a model for the Remount Service work four years ago is a matter of record. DONATES TWO NOTED SIRES. It was not the first time that Federal authorities had been helped by the Jockey Club, whose chairman. Major August Belmont, had almost twenty years ago presented them with the noted sires Henry of Navarre and Octagon, as well as others of lesser note. These horses, which were sent to the Front Royal Experimental Station, did a noble work in Virginia, but it was only a drop in the bucket to what has developed recently, there being no fewer than two hundred thoroughbred sires distributed throughout the Union. The present chairman of the Breeding Bureau, Mr. Frank K. Sturgis, is a firm believer in the efficient aid of state constabularies in preservng the peace, especially in rural communities. Realising that an officers usefulness is measured by the character of his mount he offered the state police, through its chief. Colonel George Fletcher Chandler, the use of several of the best thoroughbred sires in the Breeding Bureau to develop a type of mount that would be in keeping with the other qualities of the service. Colonel Chandler gratefully accepted the proposed aid and fine stallions like Fashion Plate, Otis, Marse Henry, Oyama, Pharoah, Chief Lally and Cock o the North have been used. Most of the breeding has been done at Troop K., White Plains, with Sergeant Boice in charge of the work. The oldest of the horses secured through using the thoroughbred as a top cross on western mares will be four years old on January 1, and they are of such quality that the troopers are eager for the day when they can ride out on these sturdy half-breds. whose oblique shoulders run into strong backs and whose loins are muscled and arched as a true weight carriers should be. EXTENDING AID ELSEWHERE. The state constabulary movement, now becoming popular everywhere, was initiated In Pennsylvania, where its splendid service attracted the attention of the authorities of other commonwealths. The horses used by the Pennsylvania troopers have been bought in the open market, but through tne co-operation of the Breeding Bureau of the Jockey Club in recently sending the tnoroughbreti stallion Recount to the State Military Farm at Mt. Gretna it is hoped to lay the foundation for a breeding stud that will produce the right type of mounts for the state constabulary and the Pennsylvania National Guard. Governor Sproul of Pennsylvania has been strong for the breeding plan, which will be conducted under the supervision of Adjutant-General F. D. Beary. Another enthusiast is Governor-Elect Pinchot, who is a good horseman. Still another enthusiast, who recently welcomed Recount to his new home, is Harry E. Shoemaker of Altoona. Recount was donated to the Breeding Bureau by C. A. Stone-ham of this city. The horse, now seven years old, is a son of Ballot and Censure, by imported Star Ruby. He was a good race horse, winning eighteen times, being second fourteen times and seven times third. His total winnings amount to S25.C39.21. Recount is all quality and was specially chosen by the Breeding Bureaus experts because of his fine swinging trot, which is one of the best assets a troopers horse can possess. lie has three-minute speed natu- rally and undoubtedly inherits his ability to fold his knees and flex his hocks from his grandsire Voter, which had as much action as any hackney.
