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REFLECTIONS B* NELS0N wnst*n NEW YORK, N. Y., June 2.— At Belmont Park on Memorial Day, a group of racing peiple were discussing matters of the turf, and one said, "I dont know exactly what has caused it, but our daily newspapers now carry many more news items on Englands Grand National Steeplechase, the Epsom Derby and Ascot Gold Cup than was the case just 10 years ago." There is no doubt in our mind that the International Gold Cup, the quick air transportation of horses from one country to another, and the fact that in recent years so many American horses have been entered in English races have been among the chief causes. Hardly had the matter been dismissed from our mind when we received a letter from a reader in Mount Vernon, New York, saying, "I am a newcomer to racing, and while I know that the American Triple Crown is comprised of the Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, I am very vague as to the conditions of the races which make up the English "Triple Crown. In what way are the two events alike and would you say that our races are more difficult to win than the three English events? I feel sure that many newcomers to the turf would be as interested as I am in this subject. Sincerely yours, J. J. Cronin." AAA As the Epsom Derby is to be run Saturday and our own Belmont Stakes, third and last leg of the American "Triple Crown," will be run on June 11, we thought a column — as Mr. Cronin suggested — would be of interest. In some ways, our own "Triple Crown" is more difficult than that of the English, and just one point that immediately comes to mind is the close proximity of our three events. When we consider the prep events which lead up to the Kentucky Derby on May 7, the Preakness on May 14, and then the Belmont Stakes on June 11, our "Triple Crown" is a far tougher one than the Two Thousand Guineas, the Epsom Derby and then the St. Leger. English three-year-olds get more of a breathing spell, for the Two Thousand Guineas, which, is the first event, is run at Newmarket early in May. Then comes the Derby at Epsom in early June, while the third race, which is the American Versus English Triple Crown Two Crown Events Differ in Many Phases English Winners Must Be Sprinters, Stayers St. Leger Oldest of All Triple Crown Races St. Leger, is run at Doncaster in September. There has always been a question with Englishmen as to whether the Derby or the St. Leger is the most important of the trio, but in "Racing England," Chalmers says, "Probably the St. Leger is the most important one on the turf, for it crowns the career of the great three-year-olds." AAA In the matter of distance and the conditions of the races, the English three-year-olds probably have a tougher time of it than our own. As everyone knows, the courses at Churchill Downs, Pimlico and Belmont Park are perfectly flat, but that is not the case in England. The Kentucky Derby is at a mile and a quarter, the Preakness at a mile and three-sixteenths, and the Belmont at a mile and a half . The three English races cover a much wider span in length, for the Two Thousand Guineas is at one mile, the Derby at one and a half miles, and the St. Leger at one mile, six furlongs and 132 yards. The Two Thousand Guineas is run at Newmarket, which is regarded on the other side as the "headquarters" of world racing. There are two courses at Newmarket, and the Rowley Mile, over which this one-mile event is run, is said to be the finest race course in the world. Two weeks after the running of the Two Thousand Guineas, the colts who are pointing for the Derby are given a public trial in a race that is called the Newmarket Stakes. It has often been said that horses of doubtful courage never win at Newmarket, and this is especially true with those who run over the Rowley Mile, as this course is regarded as the most "testing" in all England. AAA Many an owner has found that he has a champion in a one-mile race,-but that his horse lacks the stamina at one and one-half miles. But to win the British "Triple Crown," a horse must go from the one mile of the Two Thousand Guineas to the one and one-half miles of the Derby. He must be a real stayer, for the course at Epsom is horseshoe shaped, up-and-down, and one of long descent to the famous Tattenham Corner. Then comes the famous "run in" to the finish. From Epsom, the "Triple Crown" horses go to Doncaster for the still longer race of one mile, six furlongs and 132 yards, and here again they go to an entirely different style of race course. At Doncaster, the course is flatter than Epsom, but while it is roughly oval, it is regarded as a greater test of stamina than the Derby. When an English horse has won these three events, the stamp of greatness must be placed upon him, for he not only is a sprinter, but a stayer, and horses who are both come few and far between. Englishmen say that "Epsom is a picnic, but Doncaster is a ritual where the racegoer can see the greatest horses developed in England." AAA Although the Epsom Derby was inaugurated in 1780, it is not the oldest of the "Triple Crown" events, as the St. Leger was first run in 1776. Yet, it was not until 1853 that West Australian became the first horse in history to win the English "Triple Crown." From that year on, only 13 horses have been able to duplicate the feat, and the last of these was Bahram, a horse who never met defeat and who was later shipped to this country to serve in stud. The first American "Triple Crown" winner was Sir Barton, who won in 1919, and he was followed by Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Assault and, just a year ago, Citation. Check either list and it will quickly be seen that it takes a sterling race horse to win the "Triple Crown" in either country. Quite a few horses have been able to win two of the events, but failed to take the third, and in many cases that has been due to the longer distance of the St. Leger, and also the Belmont Stakes. In England, one and one-half miles is considered the classic distance, while in this country, one and one-quarter miles is regarded in that light. Many people are of the opinion that it takes more out of a horse to win at one and one-quarter miles than it does at the longer distance, for there is no opportunity to take a "breather" during the running.
