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Here and There C on the Turf t, n b Derby and Preakness. Future Wagering. Sl Present Favorites. s Possible Dark Horses. Now that the entry list for the Kentucky t, Derby is made public and the dates for the y running of both the Preakness Stakes and the fl western three-year-olds feature have been an- a nounced, there will be a great increase in in- terest in the early preparations of the candi e dates for those events. It will be possible for a horses to start in both the Derby and the j Preakness this year, as the Maryland event will be contested May 12 and the Kentucky s a Derby May 17. The five days period between the Preakness and Derby dates, however, is so j, short that only a few of the Pimlico starters ! are likely to race at Churchill Downs as well. r Of course the top notchers which face the ! starter in the Preakness Stakes will possibly r j be sent west if they come out of the big 1 Maryland race in good condition. But a number of others which might start in both events 5 j if there were more time for the trip west will possibly not try for the Derby. The closeness of the dates will also possibly j prevent western Derby candidates, with one or r two possible exceptions, from making the trip J j east for the Preakness Stakes. The future books have opened for the Derby. . but prices have not been quoted against many of the candidates as yet. Sarazen, Wise Counsellor and St. James at present occupy a position as joint favorites in the eastern books at 8 to 1, but indications in the early wagering are that Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt IPs unbeaten n gelding will attract the bulk of the support . in the seaboard section. When the candidates actually begin serious 15 work in preparation for the race there will undoubtedly be a real alignment. It will be lC recalled that last winter Harry Payne Whitneys Enchantment was a strong favorite at a ridiculously sho price in the future books until reports b;gan to gain circulation regarding the fast work of Zev at Rancocas farm. Enchantment, on the other hand, was showing little or nothing in his early training and the complexion of the future books underwent a sudden and radical change. Something of that sort may happen this year, although the situation is radically different from that of last year. There is little doubt that one of the three leading candidates at the present time will retain the position of favorite throughout tli2 period of future wagering. Which one of the three will hold this position will be decided largely by the progress which they make when serious work begins. Wise Counsellor and Sarazen are likely to attract more attention than St. James, because both raced successfully and impressively over a mile distance last fall, while St. James never went more than three-quarters in actual competition. The Ward colt has already begun outdoor work and although he has not been asked for anything approaching real C t, n b Sl s t, y fl a e a j s a j, ! r ! r j 1 5 j j r J j . n . 15 be lC speed, he is reported to be well along in his conditioning. Sarazen is not likely to begin work for several weeks yet, although he is reported to be in fine condition at B:lmont Park. rr Many things can happen between now and May 17, however. All three of these promi- 12 12. 1 nent candidates might be eliminated from 2 o. consideration before the running of the race, 3 - 4 although this is unlikely. 5 5- 6 6- The fact of the matter seems to be that a number of backward two-year-olds which did not start at all last year, or raced only once 1 2 or twice without success, may force their way 3 into prominent contention for the big Kentucky 4 4 race. Several trainers last year, find- ing themselves in possession of big, growthy 5 0 fwo-j-ear-olds which could not be trained in- 6 6 tensively, deided to follow the English method with these horses. These youngsters were 1 1 accordingly trained little or not at all. 2 2 Some of the horses so treated last year arc 3 3 considered of high class by their owners and 4 4 trainers. Their two-year-old records would 5 not attract any attention whatever from any- 6 body, but when they begin to train for their three-year-old there be engagements may j 1 some surprises in store for the partisans of 2 2 Sarazen, Wise Counsellor and St. James. 3 3 " 4 4 The old controversy over the effect too much 5 i C C two-year-old racing on the breed of horses will possibly never end, but the greatest 1 argument against the present system would 2 2 attain much additional strength if one of these j 3 horses which was not raced to any great 4 extent as a two-year-old should come along 5 and win a Preakness Stakes or Kentucky G Derby. In England and France it is not unusual for horse that has not been raced as a two-year-old to win the big three-year-old stakes, but such a thing seldom happens in this country, although it did in the case of Extcrmi- nator. If it should happen here occasionally, ; the trainer responsible for the training of the particular horse that does the trick will find 1 many imitators in subsequent years. There is no doubt that many horses are ruined by too much racing during their two-1 year-old season. There is no doubt, when it comes to that, that a great proportion of horses so ruined would contribute little to the improvement of the breed in any case. But a few horses with the elements of greatness are practically lost to breeding by these methods and their loss is possibly more serious than can ever be realized. A horse that is broken down by too much racing as a two-year-old usually stands little chance of success in ths stud, because his ; racing record is usually the best advertise- ment for a stallion. A horse that enters the stud without an impressive record on the race course usually is given practically no oppor- . tunity to show his merit as a progenitor. He is mated with mediocre mares and his progeny is mediocre.
