The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1886-01-16
RICH STRIKE.
The Euturity WIN 10 he Richest 1vsl
Raced for I'm AmeTioo.

~ ~ Et=&.yIa
From the N. Y. Mail andE Express.
| What was said two months ago IN rede
ton to the Futurity Stakes has come te
pass, and there is now no question that II
will be the richest stake ever run for By
thoroughbreds in America. To those no,
thoroughly. acquainted with the conditions
it may be stated that the first race for thu
Futurity Stakes will be decided at the au
tumn meeting of the Coney Island Jockey
Club in 1888, and that only the foais 81
this year-in other words. colts or fllies
two years old in 1S88-will be eligible to
start. These, of course. must be the
produce of mares entered on or BE-
| to Yesterday the total of mares entered
| numbered more than $50. and the number
is likely to be swelled to 500 by entries rom
California, England, France and possibly
Australia. The Coney Island Jockey Club
adds $4,000 to the stake. The sum Ut go
must be sent along Tor every mare entered.
A total OF 800 mares make this entry
money 5000, in addition to the $40. 600
| added by the Coney Island Jockey Club. or
$50. 900 in all. The sum Of $50 must be
paid for the produce of each mare. unless
Most of the yearlings will then be untried.
and it is then not at all unlikely that $50
will stay in at $50 each. This, added to
the So, 900, makes a total of $4,000. In
addition the owners will have to pay $3.50
for zach colt or filly that faces the flag on
the eventful day. At least thirty will be
likely to come to the post. More than
twenty have faced the starter in the Great
Eastern Handicap for tw~o-year-olds for g
stake not one-fourth as valuable nor with
o%ne-fourth as many entries. A total OF
thirty horses at $25 would be $3.50.
which. added to $37, 500, would make the
stakes worth $45 600. -.
The great value of this stake shows the
Immense progress of the turf in America.
The value of blooded stock has increased
200 per cent. in eight years. S~tosk-raising
has become a great industry. The West is
alive with stock-breeding farms. Milton
Young has entered the produce of twenty
seven mares for the Produce Stakes. Mr..
D. Swigert has entered the enormous num-.
Der of fifty. Mr.. B. c. Thomas has sent
thirty-seven enGries along and Messrs.
McGibben and the firm Of China & Morgan
are credited with twelve each. These are
only examples of the enterprise OF western
stock-breeders Each entry it u Ie re.
membered costs the breeder $25, and $50
additional if not Withdrawn before July Ii
of next year. Racing in England is at q
standstill here it is progressing every day.
Race tracks and racing associations are
multiplying 80 rapidly that turf critics are
puzzled to keep track of them. A few years
ago we could name from memory all the
speedy thoroughbreds, while to-day their
names printed in small type would occupy
eight pages.
But while the growth of racing shows the
necessity for rich stakes such as the Lori
lard, Emporium, Stallion, Swift and 9TH
ers OF the kind, it cannot be said that the
Futurity Stakes, rich as it is, gives any
promise Of being successful in a racing
sense, or satisfactory to breeders or to
race looks dazzling when it is seen that the
owner of the first horse will receive nearly
$40, 900, of the second about $4,000, and
of the third about $4,000, but important
matters must be taken into consideration.
T~wo-year-olds are frisky animals. 1t is
hard to get half a dozen Of them away
from the post. How much harder it is to
get thirty Of them off in good shape can be
best estimated by those who remember the
Great Eastern Handicap, in 1884. After
dozens of breakaways and e
ly an hours delay at the post. the
colts and fllies lgot away on a
track where only ten could safely run
abreast. In the flying rush OF three-quar-
lcI6 Vi q IuIlC 6DuIO vi VlO AAAl
could never make their way from the rear,
and the result was that the light-weighted
Ten Stone, only a s~econd-class colt, who
got away in front, won the rich stake.
T~hree-Quarters of q mile is no test OF a
horses speed or endurance when 20 or 80
are in the race and all cannot get OH on
even terms. The result is almost certain
to be a 'fuke," and does not by any
means prove the good breeding or superior
ity oil the colt or flly. A stake of this
kind should be for t~hree-year-olds, at a.
distance OF a mile and q quarter or a mile
and a half. Then the speed and en~durance1
Of a horse would come into play, and g su-
perior animal would be able to make up
the ground lost by q bad start.
1t will, of cours be argued that q num-
her of the best t~wo-year-Olds will be dis
abled during the coming season and will
not be in good shape in their 'h~ree-year-old
form. The answer to this is that the fttes'
will survive. A true race horse will not
easily break down if properly cared for,
and breeders should be willing to take the
chances OF accidents. Others will answer
that the stake should be decided by the
two-year-olds, 80 that the other produce oil
the victor's sire may bring good prices at
the y~earling sales. This is only a senti-
ment. The winning of such a race would
be no true test OF merit in one case
out Of a thousand, and would only add a
fictitious value to the get OF the victor's sire.
The rich two-year-old stakes now are SUI
ticient to determine the relative value of
colts and fllies, and the stakes are SO plen. |
tiful, from Coney Island to California, that
every opportunity is given to test the value
of highly-bred youngsters. The Futurity
Stakes, while it shows the prosperity OF
s~tock-raising and racing, is only q lottery. |
If a stake half as rich was arranged Tor
t~hree-year-olds, or " such stakes, and
two more for the cup horses, we would
speedily see an improvement in the care
and endurance of horses, and the turf
would not be crowded with three, o and
ive-year-old cripples-al] OF them first-class
horses-who were raced off their legs to win
the rich prizes when thew were in their two 4
year-old form.
The spring racing in the West will open
in a blaze OF glory. The turfmen and stock I
breeders have been so enterprising that
of the race meetings will clash, and
a sufficient number of good horses will not
be found 10 fill all the dates. St. Louis
offers 100000 in added money for its
sporting meeting; the Chicago people at
Washington Park offer $65 600, and Mem
phis, Nashville, Louisville and the Others
swell the total of added money alone
above $4,000 OO. The first racing OF any |
will begin at Nashville on April
20, and there will be three races a day |
until May 4. Among the stakes will be the
Maxwell House, Cliff Lawn, Lakewood
Belle Meade, Merchants, Rock
City and Jackson. Before the Nashville
ends the flyers will be at
Memphis, beginning on May 8. Among
the rich prizes will be CASTOR Hotel Stakes, |
Peabody Hotel Handicap, tkefamousT Ten.
nessee Derby, the Montgomery Stakes and
several handicaps. Close on Memphis will
Louisville for ten days, and then St.
Louis and Chicago, and SO on. While this
of racing is going ON out West, we
shall have opened at Baltimore, Washing
ton and Jerome Park, and our eyes will be
cast toward Sheepshead Bay, when the
flyers are assembled at St. Louis. In two
years racing will be run to earth here unless
national confederation of turf associa-
tons is formed and rules made which will
keep worthless nags off the turf. The peo-
pie will grow tired, as they are growing
tired in England, OF seeing cheap races and
cheap horses, and will only turn out in
large numbers to see a famous race between
monarchs of the turf. Plenty OF racing is
one matter; safety of racing is another.
The Dryer Brothers have evidently de-
termined not to race their horses out West