view raw text
New Identification System Will Be Used at Northville DETROIT, Mich., June 17.— Horses, as well as human beings can be "fingerprinted." Soon all the horses at Northville Downs actually will be "finger-printed" as a result of the announcement by the United States Trotting Association of the adoption of a fool-proof system of identifying harness horses. The USTA has embarked on a program that will result in the "chestnuts" or "night eyes" of every harness horse in the country being photographed. The "chestnuts" are horny growths located on the inside of each leg and are as effective as fingerprints in providing positive identification. No two are ever alike. The USTA also will photograph front and side views of every horse and will note the permanent record distinguishing characteristics such as scare, blemishes, imperfections of conformation, etc. Adoption of the new system will render it impossible for a horse to be "ringed" once his "fingerprints" are on file with the USTA. However, veteran track officials point out that instances of "ringing" are very, very rare.
