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Here and There on the Turf Prospect of Delaware Rac ¬ ing ingManners Manners of Horses Made MadeMajor Major Daingerfields Meth ¬ ods odsStarter Starter Dades High Quali ¬ ties Delaware is another state that promises to come to the turf fold with a season of racing Already a bill is in preparation that will pro ¬ vide for the establishment of a state racing commission to govern the sport after the fashion of its government in Maryland and Kentucky Those who are behind the move have expressed confidence that such a law will be enacted when it is presented to the legislature On other occasions there have been efforts to bring racing to Delaware but the racing people of the state at no time came together in a concerted movement to that end Some years back a meeting was conducted at Wil ¬ mington At that time there seemed to be every prospect for that city coming regularly into racing Nothing came of that meeting but it was for lack of general effort on the part of friends of the sport It would seem now that there is more unity of purpose among those who would establish racing in Delaware and the chance seems bright for its entering the field fieldThere There is plenty of room for a properly con ¬ ducted race meeting at Wilmington and it is always cheering to see the turf obtain a foot ¬ hold in a state where there is no present racing racingThe The restoration of a circuit west of the Rocky Mountains is another sign of the times and it would seem that is well nigh assured With such a circuit conducting racing at the various tracks all the year around there would be no end of employment for horses in the Far West without ever shipping them over the mountains Time was when the far west ¬ ern circuit kept the thoroughbreds pretty busi ¬ ly engaged and many a horse raced to a cer ¬ tain degree of greatness without ever crossing the Rockies At that time breeding operations were extensive in California and the Far West Prospectivcly the Tanforan meeting will do good in establishing the thoroughbred more firmly than he has been since the old days of Oakland Ingleside Santa Anita and other Cal ¬ ifornia tracks Vancouver and Victoria have supported racing liberally before and Robert A Hiller and his associates have long been working for a bill in the State of Washington that would enable racing under a commission form of government All of this is a natural reflection of the present healthy condition of While the owners of the various horses that have been barred from starting at Tijuana will doubtless feel that the stewards of the meeting overtreatcd them with undue harsh ¬ ness it is well that horses that are a menace to other horses or to riders be barred It is unfortunate when a horse develops into a rogue but it is frequently traced to the manner in which it is treated in the stable Time and again a wise trainer has taken a rogue and made a gentleman of him both in the stable and on the track And horses of perfect manners have been made into rogues when transferred to another stable There is usually an excellent reason for the disposition of a horse and if one looks far enough it is usually found that the temper of the horse merely reflects the temper of his trainer or his handler in the stable Of course there are some natural rogues but the trainer of equable temper will go much further with such a horse than the man who is not biassed with a similar disposition dispositionWhen When the late Major Daingcrfield was mak ¬ ing such glorious turf history with the thor ¬ oughbreds he was breeding at Castleton Stud for James R Keene there were no better mannered horses sent to the races It was easily understood when one had the good for ¬ tune to visit Castleton Major Daingerfield had his foals from the time they were able to stand on their feet thoroughly accustomed to being handled and he saw to it that not a horse on the place was at any time abused Dogs were not barred from the pastures as is the case in various other breeding establish ¬ ments In fact when this pastmaster of thor ¬ oughbred production made a tour of the farm he frequently had as many as five dogs in his entourage The foals grew up in an at ¬ mosphere where there was nothing to fear from either dogs or men They had courage and confidence when on the race track that was foreign to other twoyearolds which found everything new and alarming Fox hunters could ride over Castleton with or with ¬ out permission and they did not throw the horses into a panic It was gentle handling that made the Keene horses so well mannered and these manners beyond question had much to do with the stables success that made the famous silks lead all other owners for four successive years The passing of A Barrett Dade brings real bereavement to the turf In his long service at the starting gate and there never has been a better starter he was an official that at once commanded the admiration and respect of both horsemen and public A sportsman of sterling integrity and courage he had almost an uncanny skill in his chosen profession He was at all times an official who brought dignity to the office His untimely taking off was largely brought about by his devotion to his work and it was only by reason of the im ¬ perative command of his physician that he did not fill his position as starter at Jefferson Park
