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it m Here and There on the Turf . With the first day of the New York season of racing at Jamaica, there came injury to two different horses that would have been avoided with a stall starting device. Both Distraction and Crack Brigade, starters in the Paumonok Handicap, were seriously hurt by being kicked at the post and these injuries may mean disability to meet engagements close at hand. James Fitzsimmons had high hopes of winning the Dixie Handicap for the Wheat-ley stable with Distraction, but now he is doubtful if he will be able to bring the five-year-old to the post. Distraction was kicked on the hock during the long delay at the post in the Paumonok. Crack Brigade is T. M. Cassidys hope for the big May "classics," and he has been pointing for them brilliantly. He was possibly more seriously injured than Distraction and it is easily understood why he dropped out of the contention in the feature. It is to be hoped that the injury to these good horses is not as serious as feared, but at least have caused some interruption in training when any halting of preparation is of moment. In telling of the injury of Distraction, Fitzsimmons regretted that the stall machine was not in use. It would at least have protected his horse from injury received. He also pointed out that Distraction is a well behaved horse at the starting post, but in addition to being kicked, he had been jostled about and upset during that delay, in a fashion that would not have been possible with the protection afforded by the stalls. These accidents of Monday at Jamaica, as well as the various other occasions when horses have been injured at the starting post, are surely strong arguments for one or the other of the starting devices. They at least protect the horses from such injuries. W. F. Mulholland and jockey Eaby accomplished something of a feat at Havre de Grace Tuesday when Mulholland saddled four of the George D. Widener horses to have Eaby bring them home winners. These were Torrential, St. Prisca, Finita and Gerard. What made this doubly gratifying to Mr. Widener was the fact that each of these was of his own breeding. There is always the additional thrill when the sportsman wins with those of his own production and that is why so many of them go from racing to the breeding of thoroughbreds. It is a natural step and when it is taken with careful study of only selecting those worthy for production, many an important breeding establishment has been created. Unfortunately there have been some sportsmen who have sent both horses and mares to breeding farms without this careful study. There has been too much haphazard breeding and that is a reason for the over-production of bad foals. Time and again the horse, or mare, that has been a particular favorite during his racing life, is sent to the breeding farm for that reason and for no other reason. Of course there is the hope that he will reproduce himself, but it is not required, as it should be, that he comes from a producing line. He is sent to the stud because he was a good race horse, or because he was a particular pet. Thoroughbred breeding is a deep study and with all the knowledge available there come frequent failures, but when a horse is put to breeding for sentimental reasons, with no consideration cf his blood line eligibility, then it indeed becomes a game of chance rather than a science. . At a recent meeting of the stewards of The Jockey Club permission -was granted for the registration of twenty thoroughbreds for which no permission would have been needed had that imperative part of making him eligible had been done within the legal time. And it must be remembered that, with the granting of the permission for the registration, there is a greatly increased fee. And at every meeting of the stewards it is usual to have various applications for this delayed registration. It really is hard to understand how a breeder of thoroughbreds could overlook such an important bit of procedure and it is also hard to understand how any buyer of a weanling would not at first make certain that there had been a registration. Some of the smaller breeders frequently sell their produce as weanlings and various of them fail to go to the trouble of making a registration. Mares have been purchased ;ivith foals at the side and there-Has been-no registration of the foal. TheiTthere have been cases of the purchaser of the mare registering the foal as of his breeding. In that manner there are errors in the record and the record is full of such errors. Of course, the breeder is of no importance, provided identity of the foal is thoroughly established, but many a breeder has never been accredited with the production of a good thoroughbred just through his own failure to register the foal. That wTas the case with Friars Carse. She is a daughter of Friar Rock and Problem and was bred by J. H. Rosseter. Samuel D. Riddle bought Problem with the filly at her side and, as the foal had not been registered by Mr. Rosseter, she was registered by Mr. Riddle. In this Mr. Rosseter was purely to blame himself. This is only one of almost countless cases and the wonder of it is that breeders are so careless in this important part of making the produce eligible. Horsemen are reminded that the various stakes of the Ontario Jockey Club are to close May 3. These are fixtures to be decided at the Woodbine spring meeting from May 17 to May 24 and the array is a truly attractive one. The richest prize is the Toronto Cup Handicap, a gallop of a mile and an eighth, to which 5,000 is added. Then there are five other specials of ?5,000 added each during the seven days of sport. Two of these are steeplechases and one is titled the Frazer Memorial as a tribute to the memory of the talented secretary of the Ontario Jockey Club, who passed away during the winter. The Ontario Jockey Club sport has always attracted some of the best horses from the states and it is natural to expect that this season will be no exception to those that have gone before in this particular.
