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BREEDING STIMULUS Anticipated 00,000 Futurity to Aid Thoroughbred Production. Famous Race Always Barometer of Turf Prosperity in This Country. NEW YORK, N. Y., Dec. 14. The Westchester Racing: Associations announcement that its Futurity of 1927 may reach a gross value of 00,000 or more, should bring joy to every blood stock breeder. That the list of entries due on January 3, next, with racing secretary Schaumburg, will surpass all other totals in the history of this splendid event seems assured in advance; for the Futurity has an appeal peculiarly its own, never failing to keep pace wi.h the growth of the breeding industry. The otlice of the Westchester Association has been a busy place for some time, with thousands of entry blanks being sent all over the country and to the neighboring Dominion of Canada. Liberal allotments have been dispatched to the English and French turf authorities for distribution abroad as well. Hundreds were distributed by hand to the army of horsemen in the metropolis for the dispersal sale of the Xalapa Farm Stud last AVednesday and Thursday. It is hoped that a number of foreign nominations will come to hand. If those who breed for the market on the other side of the Atlantic j are alive to their opportunities, they will j be liberal in their patronage of our great feature events. Had the dam of Master j Charlie been named for the Futurity of 1924 that colt would have brought more than the few hundred dollars he changed hands for in England, and Andrew G. Blakely would never have been permitted to bag -him at ,000 at the Saratoga sales for William Daniels. Francois Dupre, Avho is a partner of Due Decazcs, one of the largest French breeders, is in New York at present He-has cabled his partner to nominate some of their best mares in the Futurity of 1927. His example should be contagious. FUTURITY TIIH MAINSTAY. While other stake features have played their part in stabilizing the blood stock breeding industry in the United States, the Futurity must be regarded as the mainstay of the business. Its influence permeates every breeding establishment. Any mare nominated for the big prize is an object of solicitude, while the produce of such dams have a potential worth far beyond those of other mares. A nomination for the Westchester event adds greatly to the value of a yearling. This fact is becoming appreciated more and more wih the passing of time. The fact that a cash payment of 0.00 j accompanying a nomination on January S I keeps the entry good until there is an op-portunitv I of determining the quality of the j I colt or filly, makes the scheme desirable from every point of view. Those yearlings that : show stake form can be carried through! and selling platers declared out The second j pavment of 0.00 is not due until November I 1 of the vearling period, while a further sub-! scription" of 0.0 is not due until July 1 of the following year. There is no further expenses until the day of the race. With the Westchester Racing Association adding 5,000, and upwards of 1,500 nominations contemplated, it is not difficult to visualize a Futurity worth more than 00,-000 in 1927. That it will be run into a still greater figure when the breeding industry attains the growth it seems destined to make, is certain. The provision giving ,000. ,000 and ,000, respectively, to the nominators of the first three placed horses, whether they are the owners of the animals on the day of the race or not, is solace for those individuals who breed for the market and do not race. It is the finest sort of stimulus for the smaller breeder also and should encourage every man with a love for the type and a few acres of ground for a mare to run over, to engage in blood stock production, no matter how modestly the initial venture may be. PREMIUMS FOR BREEDERS. Those who believe that every race of value should have a breeders premium, have long pointed to the liberal allowances carried by the Futurity. Perhaps the time will come when any fixture worth 0,000 or more will have an "award to the breeder of the winner. If the minimum Avere placed at ,000 and the amount distributed was 5 per cent, the blood stock breeding industry would have a substantial and enduring growth. The provision giving the produce of maiden stallions and mares an allowance has been helpful to the cause of bloodstock production also. It should be borne in mind by breeders that the three pound allowance for stallion or marc without a winner to their credit prior to January 1, next year, or five pounds where both are maidens, must be claimed at the time of entry. The entry of mares that subsequently prove barren or, i haAe twins or a dead foal are regarded as void and the nomination fee is returnable. There Avill be general rejoicing on the part of those Avho Avant to see a race of such A-alue decided over a fair distance, to learn that the Futurity of 1927 will be run at seven-eighths, Avhich Avas the distance of the Flat-bush Stakes, the companion fixture of the Futurity at Sheepshead Bay. The Flatbush j Avas run a Aveek later than the Futurity, and I the colt or filly capable of Avinning both ! events Avas hailed as the champion tAvo-ycar-old of the year. When the Coney Island Jockey Club, under avIicsc auspices the Futurity " came into being, passed out of existence, the greater feature Avas transferred to the Westchester Racing Association and the longer race abandoned. I For some years the Futurity Avas run over a short three-quarter mile course at Sheepshead Bay, because of the difficulty in securing additional ground at the head of the j stretch, and the claim Avas often made that j it did not really furnish a fair test of two-year-quality in September. Now that the j race has been extended to seen-eighths there j Avill be something more than speed required to Avin it j
