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Free Trade in International Racing BY SALVATOR. The London Sportsman does not classify as a "journal amusant," neither is its celebrated "Vigilant" famous as a humorist, yet I have found nothing more amusing, nothing more humorous, in the sporting press for many a day than "Vigilants" melancholy wail over the approaching International race at Belmont Park between this years English Derby winner, Papyrus, and an American three-year-old yet to be selected, that appeared in a recent issue of the Sportsman. "Vigilant" does not approve of the aforesaid event. Not at all. Suppose Papyrus should not win why, those insufferable Yankees he doesnt use exactly that phrase, but his meaning is quite clear will raise an infernal ballyhoo about having beaten Englands champion colt with one of their own breeding, and this will have a disastrous effect upon Englands export trade. Like a man scared of his own shadow, "Vigilant" already see3 ahead of him the fickle French turning to America for breeding material and Newmarkets South American market for her "great asset and monopoly" i. e., the thoroughbred slipping away from her. And so forth and so forth and so on. But the rich part of the peroration is the closing strophe. Just listen, while it is unreeled verbatim : "It is not that we fear competition our system of free trade in racing proves that but it is surely ill-advised to let America have everything her own way in this matter. England stands first in horse breeding, as she did in almost everything else until she became democratic ; it is for the challengers to come to us, and for this reason I do not like a match in which the proposer has all the advantages." Do you twig you certainly must to the facetiousness, the more so for its being so exquisitely unconscious of these sentiments? "Our system of free trade in racing" O tem-pora, O mores ! With the pur sang propaganda in the foreground to prove it, and the attempt to read the American thoroughbred out of the stud books and off the turf the world over as "not thoroughbred" ! Could anything be more delicious? LOSES HER ADVANTAGE. For the first time in history, also, England hasnt "all the advantages." Hitherto she has squatted there in her Tight Little Isle today not just as tight as it used to be, perhaps and announced to the universe: "The English thoroughbred is the best in the world. If you dispute it, come here and 1 prove he is not by trying to beat us when we have all the advantages which we purpose to look jolly well after." For three-quarters of a century American turfmen have knuckled under to this system of "free trade in racing." Occasionally they have won a main or two even Derbys, Oaks, Two Thousands, St. Legers, Cesare-witches Cambridgeshires, et cetera but always on these occasions the world has been assured that these accomplishments were flukes, or substantially so. By a curious natural phenomenon, when an American horse wins an English classic, it is almost invariably discovered that the English colts of that season are away below the standard and the winner has, therefore, nothing to brag about ! Or some other ingenious and convincing reason dozens of em, for that matter adduced why the performance in question "doesnt mean anything." Just at the moment when some of these triumphs have been scored the Newmarket home guard has shown signs of panic. But with true heroism they have quickly rallied and been not long in demonstrating that "England stands first in horse breeding and" with a touch of becoming modesty "almost everything else." The system of English "free trade in racing" has involved desperate attempts to prevent Americas getting anywhere in her endeavors except by dealing in English goods. "When England "put up the bars" against the American thoroughbred on the plea of "the ; uplift" and with the august aegis of the . Jockey Club supposed to be an organization for purely sporting and not for purely com- mercial purposes as camouflage, she induced France and other countries in Europe to do likewise, also the Antipodes. In effect she made a sublime gesture of contempt to this side of the Atlantic and said: "What are you going to do about it?" A considerable portion of the American thoroughbred body-politic imagined that immediately, like the. lamented McGinty, it was going down, down to the bottom of the sea, never to rise therefrom. The rest decided to keep right on about their business and let the immutable law of the "survival of the fittest" get in its work. Which it has not failed to do. In consequence of which the pur sang propaganda isnt going any too strong these days, what with the best thoroughbreds in England, France, Italy and Spain all well disfigured with the "American stain" and the abominable American bastard himself flourishing shamelessly at home in despite of both Newmarket and the Jockey Club. A thing manifestly immoral from the standpoint of Newmarket and the Jockey Club-but by the same token not to be denied. And so, by an ironic change of positions, that portentous question, "What are you going to do about it?" now echoes back across the Atlantic, and over on that side, while a few are manfully answering it as sportsmen should, if worthy of the name, the embattled hosts of Newmarket, through their Sir Oracles, are saluting the welkin with wails such as that we are listening to. Let us suppose that Papyrus comes safely across the "Big Pond," safely to the post at Belmont Park and is beaten by his American competitor. Is he assuming any greater odds, or giving any greater advantages, than the American thoroughbreds sent to England have given to English horses on innumerable occasions for three-quarters of a century? Manifestly not. And manifestly his owner, Benjamin Irish please note that name, will you, and its implications is of that opinion, or he wouldnt send him over. EXPORT TRADE WILL NOT CEASE. Nor will the world immediately stand on end and then begin to turn the reverse way on its axis. Nor will Newmarkets export trade for which, Jn a breeding and racing sense, she has hocked her soul go incontinently to the dogs. Not at all. English thoroughbreds will still be in demand for breeding purposes on the continent, in the Argentine and in the Antipodes. Papyrus is just as apt to win as he is to be beaten, but if he should be beaten the British breeding fabric will not thereby be so shot to pieces that the pensive relics will not be worth hanging on the fence. The fact is that Englands thoroughbreds, as a class, are really a good deal more thoroughly pur sang than is a large class of her so-called sportsmen, who demand an "ace in the hole" or refuse to play the game. They are gamer, honester, sounder, better-intentioned and truer gentlemen. And the world will keep right on evaluating them on that basis, so long as they continue to prove themselves worthy of it, irrespective of the results of the International race at Belmont Park next month. Papyrus hasnt shown himself an Isonomy, St. Simon, Ormonde or Isinglass. Nor will he have to meet a colt that has shown himself any Luke Blackburn, Salvator, Henry of Navarre or Man o War. He is a colt of high class. We have one or two three-year-olds here that are thought to be so. But whether he wins or loses it will settle nothing in particular. It cannot, as a matter of fact, determine anything except which of the two, that particular day, happens to be the better. And at the last, if Papyrus should win, will it not be a wonderful thing for Newmarket? Can it not then edify the world with its exultations and renew its sublimely contemptuous gestures in this direction? Of a verity. Why, then, the melancholy woe, the dismal wails of "Vigilant" and those he represents? Why? Well, simply, that they want their usual "ace in the hole," which is their conception and working basis of "free trade in racing."
