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. .,::,:,,.--,.,,■■,- i 111 _; pfl Bj iBH Between Races By OSCAR OTIS Stories Behind Approval of Sires Horses Without Racing Lose Value Athanasius Top Stallion in Colorado HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., May 20. — One of the great human interest stories of modern day American racing reached the end of a . .,::,:,,.--,.,,■■,- i chapter chapter early early in in the the 111 _; chapter chapter early early in in the the week when The Jockey Club announced the acceptance for registration, in the American Stud Book, four sires, Nordlicht, Samurai, Athanasius and Taj Akbar. One, Lieb-wachter, was continued on the barred list because cause he he was was foaled foaled in in cause he he was was foaled foaled in in pfl Bj iBH 1944, the year in which the records of the German Jockey Club were loused up by the Nazis. We are not going in to the painstaking research made by The Jockey Club in finally deciding to admit these four horses to the American Stud Book, but rather dwell on some of the repercussions which have been world wide. Before going further, we wish to state that unquestionably The Jockey Club was correct in its actions on the matter, nor could it have done otherwise under the circumstances and still been true to its obligation to keep the stud book pure. But, nevertheless, the fulfillment of these obligations led to undreamed of complications. Consider the case of the man who brought these horses to America in the first place, Col. Fred L. Hamilton of the U. S. Army, now living in retirement in Tucson. The Colonel was so insistent in his demand that the club recognize these sires that it almost led to a polite, but nonetheless open war between the Army .officers on the one hand and The Jockey Club on the other. We can now reveal that a threat was actually made to divest, by Congressional act, the keeping of the stud book from the perogatives of the club, and transfer it to the Department of Agriculture. These four stallions, with thoroughbred papers, would have been immensely valuable; without papers, they were just horses. At the risk of moralizing, we wish to point out that this dramatically proves that thoroughbred values, whether on the track or on the farm, are basically predicated upon racing, and upon the operation or race tracks. Without the tracks to prove the breed, the stock becomes of only moderate value, ie, what it would be worth to produce saddle, farm, or bridle path stock. In any event, this turn of events proved a blow to Major Hartmann Fauly, a former Austrian horseman of great ability and wealth, who had to flee Europe. He claimed Taj Akbar as his own, and could he have gained his own horse back, in the United States, as a thoroughbred, he would have recouped his fortunes to a considerable extent. The Major and his wife are now working for a living — off the tur£— in California. For him, the recognition of Taj Akbar may have come too late to do him any real financial good. Nordlicht has been returned to France, where he was admitted to the French Stud Book, but left behind him some 16 American foals, whose value is now greatly increased in that they may be registered for breeding as well as racing purposes. Athanasius is now in Colorado, where he is growing older and with only a few more seasons of stud in prospect. He is owned by Jim Livingston, Denver breeder, who recently tranferred his thoroughbred operations from Tucson. We phoned Livingston on the matter and he said, "I became interested in purchasing Athanasius through Colonel Hamilton, who, upon his retirement from the Army, has made Tucson his home. I fell in love with the horse, and, even without papers, gave him a good chance in the stud, knowing that all his produce would have only racing permits. When I say I gave him a chance, I mean I bred him to many of my best mares. "Now that he has been recognized, I have only one course open to me because the great horse is getting old. Ill buy a few of the best broodmares that I can afford, breed them to him, and hope for fillies." Livingston did not say so, but we can add that by the stroke of The Jockey Club pen, Colorado is now the home of one of the worlds great sires, • Continued on Page Forty » I i ] j ■ ] I ■ ] J J J * i J ] * BETWEEN RACES j I By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Two for many Americans will recall that Athanasius was rated as a German race horse of consequence, and figures in the predigrees of many German Derby winners, and, of course, Niederlander, who raced so gallantly in the Washington, D. C, International at Laurel last fall. It is interesting that Johannesburg, another "prize of war" brought to the United States by Colonel Hamilton, did not figure in the horses granted papers, but the reason for this is that Johannesberg is dead. He was owned by San Francisco sportsman Charles E. Moore, who once told us, "I purchased Johannesburg strictly as a speculation. I had wanted a good sire, but was not along in breeding enough where I felt I wanted to pay what a good sire was worth. Johannesburg offered a great opportunity. bought him for next to nothing, the gamble being that he might be recognized by The Jockey Club. It was unfortunate that Johannesburg died soon after arriving at my farm near Los Gatos." We can reveal that The Jockey Club tempered the iron clad rules with as much heart as possible, and certainly with a great deal of common sense. In making the recognition, it did not insist, as it could have done, that the horses in question be repatriated and then brought to the United States again in the instance of those still here and had a great deal of sympathy with the owners of the horses in question, who without exception, acquired the horses knowing full well that they might never gain entrance into the American Stud Book. While we cant calculate the exact amount, our guess is that the decision of the club to withhold recognition pending a final determination of their right to enter the American stud was a conservative million dollars. However, we cannot feel that The Jockey Club was stuffy about the matter. Indeed, their handling of the case of Shannon n. proved that years before the case of the German prizes of war became a cause celebre. Shannon II. was admitted to the American stud because new evidence was produced, from records 100 years old appearing in the authentic publication, the English Racing Calendar Since the original furore, the Army has abandoned its remount bureau, and the Army personnel has scattered. The remount probably never will be reorganized. As for Colonel Hamilton, he marched bravely into Europe, marched out again with a great collection of horses, fought for recognition to the utmost, lost the battle, and then, somewhat broken in health, devoted himself to writing upon turf subjects, a subject, incidentally, upon which he comments with great clarity and more than passing authority. Whether he will look upon this recognition as a belated honor, we do not know. These German horses touched upon many lives of people we have not mentioned. One was Eddie Tucker, former jockey who in impromptu races in the American occupied zone of Germany, told me, "I rode Nordlicht in GI races in Germany, and if ever there was a really good horse, he was it." Tucker, incidentally, is now making aircraft a career, is holding a position of responsibility and trust at nearby Douglas aircraft.
