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Distance Only Normal in England When we look for a foreign race that plays the same role in the European sport that the Belmont Stakes does in this country, we believe that a better parallel exists with the Grand Prix de Paris at Long-champ than with the Epsom Derby. While the distances of the English and American classics are identical, a mile and a half is only normal in England while it is altogether exceptional here, our race in that respect corresponding more nearly to the mile and seven eighths of the Parisian fixture, that also a test of utmost severity. That similarity duly noted, there is also a big difference between the French and American classics; the Grand Prix traditionally attracts extra large fields, and, in marked contrast to the Belmont, is notorious as an event where "anything may happen," the winner more often than not turning up in some previously despised outsider. We do not have to look far for a reason why favorite dominate the picture in the Belmont Stakes and outsiders run rampant in the Grand Prix. The truth is that our horsemen — not to speak of our racing* public — know vastly more concerning the true form of the horses, their own and their rival trainers charges, than do their equivalents in France. When it comes, time for the Grand Prix, the French allow the race itself to tell them the all-important facts that over here would have been common knowledge weeks and maybe months before. We train and race by the watch, and we train in public. For instance, there is little or nothing concerning Nashua and what he has done or may do of . which you are not aware by this time, granted that you follow the sport with any attention. The era of "stable secrets," or of unknown form, is in the far distant past where our racing is concerned while in Europe, even a colts own trainer deals and must deal in the most generalized terms; until tested, all he can tell you is that his charge is sound, healthy and appears to have class.
