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Here and There on the Turf Dominance of Turf. Close of Great Season. , Its New Value. ..... . How Publicity Helped. One of the most remarkable years of sport ever enjoyed in this country has come to a close and of all the sports there has been not one that enjoyed a greater degree of prosperity than came to the turf. It is a year that has meant as much to the thoroughbred interests as any in history, and it has opened the way for other prospects. The interest that has been aroused has been of the best, and it has brought about a healthy growth that is bound to last. It is the horse himself that has dominated, and that is as it should be. The horse should be extolled at all times, and there was ampte reason for his glorilicnUoirk irw 1023 wlicn Zev, the fleet-running son of The Finn and Miss Kearney, wcll-nigh swept all before him to reach a pinnacle of winnings that was never before attained on the turf of this country. It matters not that there have been, doubtless, many better thoroughbreds than Harry F. Sinclairs champion. He was the colt of the hour and he came in a season of remarkable opportunity. It is admitted that when he scored his hollow victory over Ben Irishs Epsom Derby winner Papyrus at Belmont Park on October 20 there were two or three other American three-year-olds that would have beaten Papyrus in the; same race. -That was due to the track condition and the manner in which the English colt was plated for the race. But that is not the idea. Zev won his. right to be chosen as the American defender by his brilliant campaign, that began with a victory over older horses in the Paumonok Handicap at Jamaica on the opening day of the New York racing year. The other three-year-olds had many an opportunity to dethrone the brown whirlwind, but he remained master of them all to the end, alihough His last race was a bitterly contested battle when he just beat Carl Wiedemanns In Memoriam by the narrowest of margins. Giving In Memoriam his full due for his magnificent race against Zev in the fall, it must always be remembered that Mr. Sinclairs colt was probably beginning to be a bit jaded. from his long campaigning, while it must be admitted that- the son of McGee was a fresh colt and probably at the top of his form. But it would make no difference whether the crown went to Zev or In Memoriam, the , fact remained that it was the horse that counted all through the year, and it was the horse that made the year such a remarkable one for the turf. By reason of his victory over Papyrus the fame of Zev makes him a better-known colt in both England and France than Man o War, and Man o War was a greater thor-onghbred and horse of tremendous, interest , in this country. An evidence of how well this same Zev is known in England was given in his . match with In Memoriam. The English newspapers , carried a story of that race prominently in the news of the day and the newsboys cried out "Zev beats In Memoriam" as the best selling cry for their sheets. And the running of that race came just at a time when there was many a big news .story in the English newspapers. England is interested in American racing as never before, thanks to the. International race, and England knows much of Zev, because" he took the measure of its Derby winner. - That is the big thing of -the 1923 racing. It is the interest that has come to the. turf through one horse. It is well for each year when there is an outstanding figure; when there is a horse that is big enough to attract a world-wide attention. We have had several of such horses, but it remained for Zev to top them all in amount of money won. Another unfailing barometer of the turf is found in the newspapers. The turf has grown to such a news importance that infinitely more is published of racing now than ever before. The racing is occasion enough for special editions and columns have been devoted to the sport that was for so long disposed of by two or three "sticks." Fortunately th2 horse and his deeds have furnished copy enough to make these columns interesting without the infusion of much of the fiction which from time to time colored some of the so-called stories of racing. The newspapers have done a big thing in setting forth racing in a proper light and a measure of credit goes to the big dailies that have en-, tertainingly told of the racing. Major August Belmont, chairman of the Jockey Club, took occasion at the recent luncheon, when he was host to the New York Turf Writers Association, to compliment the writers on the affairs of the turf highly, and his compliments were richly.pdeservcd. To avoid any charge of self-praise that might be made, it is well, to say right here that this applies to the various dailies of the country where racing is only one of the many sports that are covered; publications where there are so many other big news stories to be covered. With Daily Racing Form, of course, racing is the only theme, and one that it has endeavored to place before the public concisely and in a dignified manner at all times. With these other publications racing was only one of many things and there was not a sport of 1923 that attracted a greater interest and not a sport that was more adequately presented to the public in the daily prints. Racing has been worthy of the gentlemen who so entertainingly told of what transpired throughout the year, but their efforts played an important part, and it is gratifying that their efforts have been appreciated. News editors know pretty well what the reading public wants, and when racing takes an important part in the news, racing grows in importance. This is just one phase of the season of 1923 that has not been touched upon in the reviews of the sports of the year. It could not come with such good grace from another publication, but Daily Racing Form feels justified in adding its compliment to that of Major Belmont, in telling the other writers of turf events of how ably they did their part in making it the greatest racing season that has ever been enjoyed. No end of good copy is already in sight for the 1924 season. The coming of Pierre Wertb-eimer with Epinard, Eugene Leigh and Everett j Haynes is sure to be a big news story, and it goes without saying that it will be treated in the same able manner in which the visit of Papyrus was handled. Just so long as the turf abounds in such copy, just so long will it furnish news that will keep it prominently before the public.
