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« * , Here and There on the Turf ! Answering Judge Murphy. Explaining the Strain. Havre de Grace Is Next. Importance of Chesapeake. g — — • Joseph A. Murphy, a racing official of long experience whose opinion on any matter pertaining to the turf must be respected, has come out in support of the , stall gate starting device. He would have the various devices that have been shown given more of a trial by the associations, and he deplores the fact that more interest is not taken in the subject. There is one point in the Murphy defense of the stall gates that is open 10 , argument. That is the contention that the standing start, which is necessary in any stall device, offers no unnatural • strain on horses that may bring about a i break down. . In this, judge Murphy points out that 80 per cent of horses which break down . go wrong in front, while a horse must start from the barrier with its hind legs. It is there that it gets impetus and, in his opinion, it is there that the strain, if any, must come. Answering this, judge Murphy is asked to compare the number of horses with , bad knees now against the number of years ago, when horses were started 1 with the flag and while in motion. He ; must admit that bad knees are much I more common now, and bad knees may , readily come from the standing start. Admitted that a horse must begin with i its hind legs— there is no other way — . this does not remove the strain on its 3 fore legs. It is that first grabbing stride s that puts the strain on the knees when it strides in front, and it is that first t grabbing stride that will cause a horse ; to knuckle over in front and occasionally , stumble to its knees. If a horse could j begin with its fore legs, there would not t be the same danger to knees or ankles I and it is just because of the way a horse e must start that there is a strain. The horse that is in motion is, of necessity, . not subjected to the same strain. That admits of no argument, and it is s also easily understood that beginning . with the hind legs makes it necessary for ,. a horse to grab with his front legs in a a manner that brings about the Injuries to 0 ; , , , • i . . , 1 ; I , i . 3 s t ; , j t I e . is s . ,. a a 0 ; knees and ankles that have been described. There is much to commend in many of the starting devices, but it is contended that the moving start does not subject the horse to the same unusual strain. Program books have been issued by the Churchill Downs Jockey Club for its coming meeting which begins May 8, to continue until June 2. As usual, the book is an excellent bit of work, adorned on its title page with a picture of Whiskery, H. P. Whitneys winner of last years Kentucky Derby. W. H. Shelley has furnished a wide variety of races for the meeting that are calculated to take care of horses of every age and of every grade worthy to race at the Louisville course. The dates for ; the running of the various stakes are ingeniously arranged to bring about the best results, and with May 19 as Derby Day — the big afternoon of the meeting — it ought to be one of the most notable meetings in the history of the famous old course. As usual, Col. Matt Winn has work under way in increasing Derby Day accommodations—this has to be done each year — and all will be in readiness for the opening. In the meantime the track is well filled up with horses training for the opening. Other reservations that have been made will tax the stabling capacity, while many horses will have to find quarters at Douglas Park. With the Havre de Grace meeting of the Harford Association to begin on Monday, each day sees the movement ol horses to that course. Several of the big racing establishments, that did not patronize the Bowie meeting, will begin their campaign with the opening of this meeting and, taking a line through the workouts, it would seem that the Harford Handicap, the three-quarters opening feature, will attract both a large and a fashionable field. The Harford Handicap was first run in 1913, when it was won by the late Maj. E. B. Cassatts Spring Board, and the ! various renewals since that time have , been won by many a good horse. Billy Kelly took the race three times in suc- cession, in 1919, 1920 and 1921. Then there came a memorable race in 1922, when Exterminator brought the Billy Kelly triumphal march to an end by ■ beating him in one of the most remarkable renewals of the race. Noah, winner of the 1925 and 1926 I races, is the only other to have repeated 1 in the stake. Next Monday it is promised that the 1 field will be up to the best traditions of the race. The first worthwhile opportunity for the Preakness Stakes and Kentucky Derby eligibles comes in the running of the Chesapeake Stakes, at a mile and a , sixteenth, of the Harford Association on April 30. This race has an added money value of 0,000, while it is decided at a t time when it is of great value in a pre-j paratory way for the Preakness Stakes, to be decided at Pimlico on May 11. No winner of the Chesapeake Stakes has been the winner of the Preakness 5 Stakes, and the nearest any one of them t came to winning was last year, when . Whiskery, after taking the Havre de Grace race, raced third to his stablemate ; Bostonian in the Preakness Stakes. It t remains an excellent trial for the Preak-, ness Stakes and the Kentucky Derby eligibles. It is run at the right time, and 1 , it is over an adequate distance. Some of the notable eligibles to the g Preakness Stakes which may be seen j under colors in the Chesapeake Stakes are: H. P. Whitneys Victorian, A. H. Cosdens Vito, William Woodwards 5 David Bone, Max Hirschs Taras Hall I and Sortie, which he trains for A. C. Schwartz; Walter M. Jeffords Bateau, J. R. Macombers good maiden Petee-Wrack, - Mrs. Margaret Emerson Bakers _ Night Life, and Adm. Cary T. Graysons S imported colt Strolling Player, one of the I best English two-year-olds of last year. There seems to be an excellent chance a for these to go to the post in the Chesapeake Stakes. Each one has been training exceedingly well, and there is every hope that each will be ready to race a a mile and a sixteenth by April 30. Of course, there are many other high ■ class three-year-olds among the Chesapeake i- Stakes eligibles, but these are ones 9 calculated to attract the most attention n and they are all suitably advanced in H 1 t I their training.
