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NEW CROP OF RACE HORSES Uncertainty of "What the Harvest Will Be After Application of Acid Test of the Track. At this time of the year there are many hopes and fears in all of the stables where there are new crops of thoroughbreds that come of. racing age New Years Day. The man who paid a little more than he thought he should for a yearling last August has by this time a fairly .good line on his investment. The colt was a bargain even at the price or it was a foolish buy, one for which the electric lights of the sale ring and the excitement of the bidding could be blamed. Then the wise buyer that picked up a cull here and there has" found his ugly duckling grown and developed in to a magnificent prospect. He remembers that Master Charlie cost only ,000 and turned out to be the best money-winning two-year-old of 3021. He may have bought two or three for his ?1,000, but he knows he has race horses. The yearlings have been put through their paces in private. They are keyed up to racing pitch. They have had their lessons at the starting gate and all that remains is the actual contest. Until the youngster has actually raced there is sure to remain just a few fears.. It is not known just how he will conduct himself in company. Many a horse is a veritable Hindoo before breakfast and a dub in the afternoon. The con- test Itself is the only test and no matter what the new racer has shown in training he must deliver in the afternoon before he is taken seriously. But, on the other hand, the two-year-olds are proverbially consistent. The youngster that shows quality is sure to come right back with races of equal quality. That is well to keep in mind at the beginning of a season. As a general proposition it is not an . inviting speculation to wager on horses that have never been to the post, but when the class has been established it becomes plain sailing. The two-year-old, provided he has no infirmity, is fired with all the vigor and ambition of youth. He has learned none of the cunning tricks that may come with long, campaigning. All he wants to do is run and win. He knows nothing of the sting of defeat and he can be depended upon to give up his best. With the present-day. requirement that all horses be properly schooled before they are raced, it is taken for granted that the new crop will be to an extent barrier wise. That is of greatest importance at this time and at all the winter tracks the schooling has been going forward for a long time. But the big thing is .that a new crop is about to be shown and that two-year-olds are more consistent than the horses of any other age division. .
