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ADMIRAL ROUS ON RACING Views of Old English Handicapper Were Given in Manifesto Predicted Decline of Stamina Hccaase of Tendencies in JJrcertlnp Sound Com ¬ ments on TwoYearold Competition In his book Ashgill or The Life and Times of John Osborne J B Radcliffe de ¬ votes the following to Admiral Rous one of the earliest authorities on handicaping and a foremost figure on the turf in his day At the outset of 1S74 Admiral Rous enliv ¬ ened the dull season by a manifesto on turf prospects which forms interesting reading at the present day It was leveled at those who would enforce by legislation their own peculiar dogmas in rearing the racer which happened to be at variance with the then existing recognized and so far prosperous methods pursued in such affairs affairsThe The admiral admitted in opening the sub ¬ ject that the season of 1873 had expired without a sympton of decay but expressed alarm at the black cloud on the horizon which threatened the turf He combated the assertion that in breeding strength and en ¬ durance were not thought of speed Tor short races being all in all at the lime he was writing lie warned his critics that strength and endurance were the summum bonum of all breeders and that there were two thousand more horses running over long dis ¬ tances and carrying heavy weights than twenty years before that breeders were not such fools as to carry on their trade at a loss and that in France and Germany the cleverest and most successful sportsmen ran twoyearolds for the earliest spring races without damage to their future prospects prospectsEAKLY EAKLY TESTS FOR HOUSES HOUSESMuch Much Importance lie attached to the early education of race horses by which superior ¬ ity and value were detected He cited Lord George Bentincks policy of trying his year ¬ lings over and over again three furlongs and then selling the beaten lots by which he escaped a ruinous expenditure and in liks manner calculated that M Lefevre the great French breeder saved 50000 per annum annumGood Good looking ones he argued ought to be thrown up after their trials and not brought out before October but the miner stock should be engaged early and so weeded out It was the abuse of a long preparation and running twoyearolds during the whole season that was destructive The height of impertinence in dictating to any horse owner how he is to amuse himself so long as he runs on the square whether over long or shcrt courses was descanted upon fol ¬ lowed by a slap at a noble lord who had proposed a law that threeyearolds should not be allowed to run under a mile he hav ¬ ing an idea that short races encouraged the breed of roarers This the admiral refuted on authority and designated the noble lords proposition a strange attack on the rights of public property and presumptuous to dictate to men as good as himself how they were to manage their studs j jUPHELD UPHELD TWOYEAftOID RACING i iHe He upheld the practice of running two yearolds at the commencement of the sea ¬ son It was childish lie held to object to March 22 when every sensible man tried his yearlings before Christmas Equally silly it was to attempt to damage a race like the Middle Park Plate on the plea that it af ¬ fected the Derby wagering and that two yearolds were reserved for this particular race Nothing he added would be so fatal to the turf as the interference of parliament which was powerless to dictate the terms upon which the use of the horse shall take place It was the then anticipated appeal for such interference when parliament assem bled that constituted the black cloud on the horizon to which the admiral referred at the outset of his letter In reply to certain correspondents who commented on the admirals letter he in sisted when the charge was made of the decline of the English thoroughbred as against the AngloArab that we possess finer horses than in the old days basing his as j sertion upon the horse having the best speed i being the finest animal i iCO3DIEXTS CO3DIEXTS O SPECULATION With regard to speculation on races his hisviews views were My friends speculate on races even young ladies losing wagering gloves It i iis is a great comfort that there are many ex patriotic purposes but it is no sport to them when they are beaten I have known mag nates of the turf who after many years of success gave up racing the very season they lost their money and converted their stables into a remunerative breeding establishment establishmentLord Lord Glasgow was a shining example Racing has always been and would always be in the United Kingdom a speculation From Queen Elizabeth to Queen Annes rcigii many of the noblest were reported to have been ruined by horse racing Vhen Hambletonian beat Diamond in 1799 it cost the losers 500000 pounds Individual wager ¬ ing has fallen from 50 per cent in my time Turf morality is much improved and the greatest gamblers are the men who never keep a race horse or subscribe to a plate and who send from 5000 to 10000 pounds into the market to back a Derby horse horseThe The stigma of excessive wagering is cred ¬ ited to the turf Out of evil cometh good1 The prosperity was secured by active specu ¬ lation Brothers go to enormous expense for improvement of the breed Suppress wagering by legal enactment the game is up thoroughbred stock would be depreciated CO per cent and our race courses plowed up
