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" — — — — BETWEEN RACES *osc«ons PIMLICO, Baltimore, Md., May 18.-— Digging into the archives is a fascinating pastime in Maryland, and whenever things get dull, turf people check into antiquity to learn more about what transpired 50 to 250 years ago. Delving into racing history is made more sporting because a great mass mass of of statistics statistics was was destroyed destroyed in in — — — — mass mass of of statistics statistics was was destroyed destroyed in in the great Baltimore fire of 1904. Thus, the hunt for knowledge has become a game that tests the ingenuity of the researcher. A few years ago, Pimlicos statistician uncovered some musty files and to his bewildered glee discovered some "missing Preaknesses" which were run, while racing in Maryland was in eclipse, at the Brooklyn Jockey Clubs Gravesend course, from 1894 to 1908, to be erjBCt. Now, this might not seem like an earth-shaking discovery in all parts of the nation, but here in Dixieland it was big news, and hailed as adding new prestige to the race, of which the Preakness already has a plentitude. So, to get into the spirit of Preakness Day, your correspondent has been doing some further research into one phase of the famous fixture, the horse for whom the race race is named. The fate of Preakness, a really good race horse, is striking example of the long way the turf has come in treatment of the thoroughbred particularly and the horse in general. Compare, for instance, what is to follow with the valiant efforts being made on the West Coast to save the life of Your Host who suffered a broken shoulder in a spill at Santa Anita. AAA Preakness was bred at Woodburn, Ky., the eighth foal of Bay Leaf, a daughter of Yorkshire. He was dropped in 1867. As a three-year-old, he won the Dinner Party Stakes, two miles, a victory which subsequently led to the New Facts Uncovered on Preakness Career English Archives Gives Details of Death Indignation Over Shooting Was World Wide Fate Launched New Era in Kindliness naming of the present second gem in the "Triple Crown," although this stage of his* career has been faily well recorded. As a four-year-old, he won the Maturity Stakes for four-year-olds, three miles, Jerome Park. In connection with this, the richest race in the world at Santa Anita Park has been, so far as we can discover, the firsl/ attempt to stage such an event since the original Maturity was abandoned. The conditions of the two races are quite similar. Preakness was an enduring horse. As a five-year-old, he dead-heated with Springbok in the Saratoga Cup, and his time, 3:56and was a record for the two miles and a quarter. The Saratoga Cup closed his American racing career. He then was shipped to England. Preakness was one of the few American horses ever given real recognition by the English. Said one London critic, "Fancy an English racer being in his prime at eight years of age. He is Julius over again, Matthew Dawson remarked to us subsequently. If he is as good as Julius was he will make matters very unpleasant for the ragged lot of long distance runners we have left." The same writer remarked that, should Preakness fail in England as a racer, he ought to do well in the stud because "he will certainly give the our stock far Better legs and feet than we as a rule see in English thoroughbreds." AAA Although Preakness did not start in the Gold Cup at Ascot, he walked over for the Brighton Cup, and ran third" in the Goodwood Cup. In the latter, he was beaten for place by a head pnly. Immediately after the race, M. H. Sanford, his American owner, offered to match Preakness against the winner, New Holland, and take a worse weight differential than prevailed in the Cup. His offer was declined, as it was obvious that Preakness lost the Goodwood only because of a collision near the wire. Preakness was sold to the Duke of Hamilton, who put* him to stud. His stud career was short, but among his offspring was Fiddler, who ran third to Foxhall and Chippendale in the Cesarewitch of 1881. At stud, he developed a temper, which so annoyed the noble Duke that, in a moment of anger, he ordered the horse shot. This act of the Duke enraged the sportsmen of that day, and the furore, on both sides of the Atlantic, was so great that a movement was started then and there, for a more humane and intelligent treatment of animals, including thoroughbreds. So it might truthfully be said that while Preakness was a victim of an act of cruelty by an English Duke, he did not gpve his life in vain. The heritage of Preakness, as well as endowing the Pimlico with his name, lies rather in what his fate accomplished for thoroughbreds of future generations, including our own. AAA It is a matter of record that the publication of the novel "Black Beauty" did much to improve the lot of the dray horse, but it is. a historical fact that the indignation aroused by the wanton slaying of Preakness caused a run of stories about similar inhumanities which had an immediate and eternal effect upon the general treatment of thoroughbreds. Commenting upon the case, and we cite but one of the many examples unearthed in our research, was the following: "Last spring, Mr. P. Duryea sold the trotting stallion Aemulus to go to France. In Continued on Page Forty-Eight BETWEEN RACES I ByOSCAKOTIS Continued from Page Fifty-Two July, Mr. Duryea ran from Paris down to the Singhy estate, where he found the horse occupying regal quarters. The French grooms were directed to put him in harness, and as preliminary steps, each armed himself with a club. Mr. Duryea pushed them aside, and to their astonishment? walked into the bog and took the stallion by the foretop. The horse recognized him and did not offer to bite or kick. If Aemulus is not made a savage, it will not be the fault of the French grooms." Then: "Preakness deserved a better fate. His blood would have mingled well with that of the best strains in England, and the result would have been horses that could stand work and go the distance. Those of our readers who remember the enthusiasm he created when he carried, year after year, the dark blue past the winning post on the American turf, will regret that he did not receive better treatment in the land of the fog and ale across the sea." A A A Following the destruction of Preakness, "Turf, .Field, and Farm" sent its writers scurrying out for stories, and they came up with a headline, "His Eyes Blotted Out," telling the story of how one Milton Young had a stallion, Onandaga, "chloroformed and his eyes put out." As we say, the Preakness incident touched off a wave of reform that did incalculable good for animals, and so enriched the-natures of man. It is for this, and the race that bears his name, that Preakness will be immortal. It may come as a surprise to* Marylanders, including the good David Woods, that our research in this matter was made possible through the courtesy of Kent Cochran of Los Angeles. Cochran has one of the five best turf libraries in the nation, and some of the sources from which we obtained this material are in his library alone, at least on this side of the ocean. During the war years, Cochran was among the few to discover that the English nobility, possessors of priceless manuscripts, were beginning to sell their most valuable literary properties in order to obtain funds. Cochran traded both dollars and food for books. And so, we cant resist informing our good friends of the Maryland Jockey Club that the English documents were discovered during some of our pleasant evenings looking through the Cochran library — in far off California.
