view raw text
Here and There on the Turf Strong Appeal of Match Rac ¬ ing ingCase Case in Which Noted Horses Met MetSteady Steady Growth of Minor Race Meetings While match races are frowned upon by racing authorities there is no denying that such private sweepstakes as they may be called are intensely interesting They have a sporting flavor that should be encouraged Of course such a sweepstake is usually framed for two horses but others that are eligible must not be barred Ask the old timers of the thrill that came in the Domino and Dob ¬ bins dead heat at Sheepshead Bay in 1893 Then the following year the match between Domino and Henry of Navarre at Gravesend which resulted in another dead heat They will tell you there were never two such races before or since Many remember the match between Novelty and Textile at Saratoga in 1910 and while it was not even close it at ¬ tracted more attention than mcit of the races of Ihe year yearThe The race at Laurel in 1917 between Hour less and Omar Khayyam was the race of the jefr Then in 1918 there was he meeting of Eternal and Billy Kelly in the McLean Cup that will always be remembered Probably tin race between Man o War and Sir Barton might best be forgotten but it is the only one of all these that were not bright spots in rcing rcingThese These specials have a peculiar sporting ap ¬ peal and they will always be tremendously popular What a race it would have been last year if it would have been possible in the fall to bring together two such colts as Kai Sang and Lucky Hour in a pecial pecialThese These are races that have more of seitl nitnt in them than any other that can be framed There is an evidence of the abiding faith a sportsman has in his horse The stake money itself is of small moment It is a ques ¬ tion of horse against horse and tine and again in the old days the sportsman was willing to stake the horse himself that he would be the winner winnerIt It Is well to nurture sentiment in racing for after all it is a bigger thing than any ¬ thing else and it is the only antidote for the tendency toward commercialism the charge that is frequently made against racing In recent years there has been a constantly growing importance of the minor racing cir ¬ cuits of the country One that has shown the greatest growth is that in Ohio and Penn ¬ sylvania West Virginia has come into this tristate circuit and the plans for the 1923 racing season will keep the stables that pat ronire such racing fairly busy most of the year Ohio in particular has ambitious plans for the race meetings within its borders and the sport is to begin there April 1C at Akron Other Ohio dates that have been announced provide for racing at Columbus Maple Heights Youngstown and one other track has been promised promisedPennsylvania Pennsylvania is not far behind with racing at Erie New Kensington and Conncaut Lake Park Then in West Virginia there will be racing at Wheeling the West Virginia State Fair and the contemplated meeting at Hunting ton This is no longer bush racing The rules are rigidty enforced and the various meet ¬ ings are presided over by men of integrity and experience experienceThese These smaller meetings when they are properly conducted have a real place in the turf scheme of any country They afford a field of endeavor for the horses that may not exactly measure up to the larger meetings in New York Maryland Kentucky and Canada They are meetings where the horsemen who making racing an occupation have their chance and they afford an outlet to the breeders that helps the thoroughbred industry tremendously tremendouslyMany Many successful horses over these smaller racing circuits have been highly priied and andhighpriced highpriced yearlingsN They disappoint in the best company but they become good bread ¬ winners when properly placed There will al ¬ ways be a large percentage of such yearlings in any crop and such racing will never lack for material materialThe The breeding of thoroughbreds is constantly expanding and it is natural that there has been many a sturdilybred horse that for some reason or other does not race to its breeding promise It at once becomes useful in this smaller field of racing and apart from that these circuits widen the turf and give racing a stronger hold on the country countryThe The larger tracks recognise the rulings of the small tracks and the small tracks are just as strict in their enforcement of the rules of racing The cheater has to a great extent been driven out and it is equally as dangerous to violate the rules of racing at Akron Colum ¬ bus or Maple Heights as it is to violate the rules at Belmont Park Churchill Downs Pim lico or Woodbine Park
