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Here and There on the Turf Mr. Belmonts Successor. Perpetuate the Silks. Kentucky and the Sale. Comparing of Programs. Men of the turf, and associates of the late August Belmont, for thirty years chairman of the Jockey Club, have paid a last tribute of respect to the memory of the dead sportsman. There was a genuine mourning at the fneral of the man who ruled so wisely and now what remains is to carry on for him and see to it that the turf continues to prosper as it did under his able direction. His associates of the Jockey Club know better than any others how August Belmont built and they know much of the visions he had for the future. Before long it is imperative that a successor be chosen to the dead chairman and he must of necessity be a man of force and a man who will be willing to devote the time and energy to the dutie3 of the high office that ever characterized the rule of August Belmont. To the layman the importance of this office may not be thoroughly appreciated, but there are those who know the requirements to properly govern the sport and they have a full appreciation of just what is required. The death of Mr. Belmont also leaves a vacancy on the board of stewards, the high court of racing, and an election to that body also becomes a necessity. The stewards are now composed of F. K. Sturgis, H. K. Knapp, John E. Cowdin, Joseph Davis, Joseph E. Widener, F. R. Hitchcock, William Woodward and Richard T. Wilson. Each is a man in whom the horsemen and the racing public have an abiding confidence. Each is a sportsman and each a man well versed in racing and the thoroughbred horse. Each has a vital interest in the turf and all have made possible the accomplishments of August Belmont in his long term of office. But, added to the qualifications for the office, there must be chosen a man who is willing to make sacrifices of his time for the welfare of the turf. Each is a man of big affairs, as was Mr. Belmont, but there must be time found by the next chairman of the Jockey Club to devote his best efforts to the government of the sport. All of the qualifications will go for naught unless there is time taken to give of the best for the turf. It is a high honor for any sportsman to be named chairman of the Jockey Club, but it is an office that demands many sacrifices. The turf is richly endowed with men of genius capable of governing, but in the selection of the new chairman there must be chosen a man who will make the sacrifices of his time and talents that the office demands. With the passing of August Belmont, there also devolves upon his sons, Raymond and Morgan Belmont, the task of carrying on the famous old silks on the turf. The late chairman of the Jockey Club followed in the footsteps of his illustrious father when he perpetuated the scarlet with maroon sleeves and black cap. He went further for he made the silks even more famous, and he made the Nursery Stud of infinitely more importance. It devolves upon the sons to carry on and they will undoubtedly see to ft that the glories of the stable and the breeding establishment will not fade. Raymond Belmont, the elder son, is well known to racing and he is a sports-manof parts. He is the natural successor to the racing establishment for, like his father and his grandfather -before him, he has ever been an ardent devotee of the turf, as well as being a polo player and a rider of ability. And August Belmont left a sacred trust for his heirs that has to do with the Nursery Stud. That was the mating of Ordinance with a daughter of Man o War which is only a yearling at this time. Mr. Belmont, than whom there was no closer student of blood lines, some time ago decided on this mating and it is a sacred trust that his wish be carried out. The Jefferson Parish Fair Association of New Orleans is to be commended for the card of races that was served up for the entertainment of patrons Thursday. With seven races on the program there were five of them at distances in excess of a mile. To be exact, there were four of a mile and a sixteenth each and one at a mile and a furlong. In contrast the card at Tijuana, comprising eight races, only saw three at as long a distance as a mile. In fact there was one race staged at four and a half furlongs for three-year-olds and upward. Two of the others were at five furlongs, another at five and a half furlongs and still another at six furlongs. Then at Havana, with six races, there was only one, at as great a distance as a mile, three at five and a half furlongs and two at six furlongs each. It is readily seen how Jefferson Park stood out oyer the two other winter courses Thurs- day. It matters not just where the horse belongs, in the matter of class there is no excuse for these trivial distances as late in the year as December. They are tests that mean nothing when it comes to what is most to be desired in the thoroughbred horse and they are far from being popular with the racing public. True, these short dashes have an appeal to some trainers who hope for the best in a wild scramble. It really is a sad commentary on the trainers themselves when they demand such events It requires no skill to fit a horse for a five furlongs dash in December except keeping him well and feeding him. When the distances are stretched out a bit the horse has to be trained intelligently. If racing secretaries would insist on programs over worth-while distances at all seasons of the year it would make for better sport. It would be an entertainment that would please the public infinitely better, and it would afford better tests and tests that the very essence of the turf demands. At this time it would be a calamity to disperse the horses that raced so brilliantly last year, and it would be more of a calamity to disperse the horses of the, breeding farm that were brought together with such skill and care by the master mind. Kentucky Splayed the most inmortant . part in the bidding for the richly bred thqrough- breds that were auctioned by the Fasig-Tipton Company for E. F. Simms at the Squadron A Armory. This sale was brought to a successful conclusion Thursday night and the high lights naturally were the selling of the young stallions, Eternal and Leonardo II. Both of the stallions went to Kentucky when Rome Respess paid 9,000 for Eternal and J. O. Keenc took Leonardo II. for 2,000. But New York obtained the highest priced matron that went under the hammer when Willis Sharpe Kilmer paid 3,000 for Portland Ura, an imported daughter of Son In Law and Lady Portland, by the St. Simon stallion, Bill of Portland. This filly she is but four years old was bred to Negofol last spring and Mr. Kilmer is to be congratulated in adding her to his Sun Briar Court at Binghamton. There was a decided improvement in the prices that were obtained the second night of the sale and a grand total of 95,900 was obtained for the entire vendue. The "average for the sale was ,491.50, but for "the second night of the selling the average reached a figure slightly in excess of ,117. This may be considered a good average and one to indicate that the thoroughbred market is. strong, but it is only a small percentage of the expenditures- of Mr. Simms in bringing together his remarkable breeding establishment.
