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BETWEEN RACES By Oscar Otis HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif. June 29. Colonel F. W. "Bill" Koester, the former Army Remount officer who. during his service career, purchased tens of thousands of horses for our own and many foreign governments, and who is esteemed as one of the worlds great judges of conformation and individuality in a thoroughbred, has completed his eighth annual tour of, California Farms as field agent for the Cal ifornia Breeders Association and has tabulated his findings. The inspection tour was two-fold, first to deliver to farm operators the latest word on care, feeding, and the like, and two, the appraisal of all homebred yearlings in general and those nominated in the breeders sale of selected yearlings which will be held for the first time this summer at Del Mar. Th"is year, as in the past, the colonel has entered the premises of the farms armed with a measuring stick and a tape, and, often to the wonderment.of the breeder, has proceeded to take the most meticulous measurements. And, at long last, the colonel has consented to explain for Daily Racing Form readers, as well as breeders who may read this column, the reasons for his painstaking efforts. A A A . "I suppose you will say it is hacknied and trite for me to remark that we have an all round better group this year than ever before, and a far larger number of upper bracket individuals," says the colonel, "but I have the figures to prove it. Mind you, I have now been inspecting yearlings in the same manner, and at the same time, for many years. I have kept detailed data on every yearling inspected, making outa complete card for each animal. These yearly appraisals have been made, as I say, under what amounts to the same circumstance and conditions each year. I have now assembled enough cumulative data to draw some conclusions. When I say we are now breeding sounder horses in California, I base this conclusion upon the dwindling number seen who have faults, injuries, or downright deformities which could hint at future unsoundness. I refer to such well known characteristics as cow hocks, splay feet, excessive toeing in or out, extremely light bone and other specific blemishes. t Figures Hint Improvement in Breed Data Shows Size, Bone Development Faulty Yearlings Slowly Dwindling "Once again, let me emphasize that what I have deduced is not opinion; it is substantiated in the records. For instance, take size. In 1948, of the yearlings inspected, only 14 per cent were 15 hands or more in May. In 1951, this percentage had risen to 24 per cent, this year 32 per cent. While I am well aware that size is not of necessity a criterion -of class, the figures prove we are breeding generally better horses, as it is my conviction that lack of reasonable, size is due more to comparatively weak blood, i. e., poor individual parents, than anything else, other things being equal. AAA "It is a well-known fact that the amount of bone a horse possesses can be tricky to the human eye, no matter how well trained. Thats why I confirm my first glance and, once an impression has been gained, more detailed and careful study of individuals, with the measuring tape. I base bone structure- on the accepted measurement around the cannon bone, taken midway between the knee and the fetlock. The standard for a thoroughbred is approximately eight inches as tabbed at that point. Anything over eight may be .regarded as big boned. Anything under can be considered as light in direct ratio to the decrease from the eight-inch standard. "On this standard, my tabulation shows that in 1948 only 6 per cent of the yearlings inspected had as much as 7 inches of bone, whereas this spring, 36 per cent had that much or more.. I believe-this improvement has been due, to a great extent, to the aforementioned weeding out of stallions and mares who havent enough bone to transmit to their offspring, as well as a sensational gain in what we call know-how. Balanced and adequate rations are now standard at all farms, and every farm in the state now has a program of parasite control. In 1948 only a few had such programs." AAA Believing that readers of Daily Racing Form might be interested in the colonels impression of the "Horse of the Hour" here in the West, mighty Determine, we asked the man to closely tab the iron-gray Kentucky Derby winner, and trainer Willie Molter quite graciously gave his consent. Here are Koesters quite candid observations: "Determine is ah unusual colt and is not very impressive to the eye. While I did not measure him, he stands, I am sure, about 15 hands two. He has grown and developed less than you might expect for an individual of his age. But I do believe that, once he lets down and is given a breather, he will grow tremendously, and I look for him to be a far handsomer individual at four than he is now. From a conformation standpoint, his most salient feature is his tremendous quarters, with a great length prevailing to his croup. He is rather plain headed, but" obviously is intelligent. His other outstanding feature is his good legs and clean tendons. Determine lias a good deal of the Arab appearance, which, I believe, he gets largely from Mah-moud. It is no secret that the Arab type, or the horse which embodies a lot of Arab in his make-up, usually is the soundest in American racing., A A A Lou Rowman, chairman of the sales committee for the California breeders, tells us he has received the Koester conformar tipn reports with considerable satisfaction and.that from his preliminary check he is sure that the "paper credentials" of the stock to be offered at Del Mar will quite match the individuals as individuals. "Sinful, the daughter of Solidarity which went through our ring last summer for ,200 and who beat some flossy priced thoroughbreds the other day in convincing manner, is a pretty good indication that not only have we offered good horses in the past, but at bargain prices," says Rowan." "We have received assurances from Walter C. Marty, managing director of Del Mar, that the southern beach course will give us 100 per cent and more co-operation in staging our sale, which I believe, inxa Saratoga setting except that it is by the beach, will inaugurate a new era. in California marketing. A A A "An established and firm market is bound to come to keep pace with the breeding industry and the wonderfully successful race meetings in this state. Our committee feels that the time has now come to realize our potential and that Del Mar is the best possible site in the whole state. Incidentally, did you know that our catalogues are being printed offset this year, and they will set a new standard of excellence in such publications? The surprising part about it is that the offset printing is cheaper than the old method. And in the near future you may look for newsworthy announcements regarding the sale, the manner in which it will be conducted and about the merits of the selected individuals to be offered."
