St. Paul daily globe., 1891-05-18
BREEDING OF TROTTERs.
Only First-CIass stock Can Hope
to Bring Good Prices.

Many people are asking themselves
whether the highly remunerative prices
that have prevailed for trotting- bred
and running bred horses during the past
few years are noing to continue much
longer, says writer in Turf, Field and
Farm. Horses of improved breeds are a
luxury; playthng in which people Of
surplus capital delight to give rein to
their MISUNDERSTANDING sporting and
gambling propenSitieS. Those alone who
can maintain a reasonable probability
that their stock Will be able to core
with the highest order of its kind will
continue to sell at remunerative prices.
This probability must De continually re-
inforced by brilliant examples of win
ming form, or popularity will wane.
Those who have noticed that for the
past few Years all trotting stock.
whether OF highest winning families or
those OF second, third or fourth degree,
has been selling uncommonly high, may
doubt the correctness Of this conclusion
and ask why this has occurred. The
answer is, that owing TO certain public
demonstrations that wildly fixed public
attention upon the great profit that a
few persons had made in breeding very
high-claSS stock. which by skill in han
ding anu combinations of fortuitous
circumstances had caught public favor,
an uncommon expansion of the
breeding interest began Simultane-
ously in nearly every grazing state.
The eXperinenter i'll the breeding field
is always prone to hopefulneSs, and
while taking a pedigree not quite his
ideal, ii he can satisfy himself that he
has obtained individual excellence of
uncommon degree, he is soon interested
in his purchase, and conSOled for the
present absence Of fashion which he
secretly hopes, quite TO the verge of ex-
pectancy, will come his way by the time
it is needed to render his venture a
financial success. Many investors
breeding stud of trotting stock of pedI-
gree and quality demanded by the
most advanced theories Of breed
ing requires an enormous out
lay for brood mares, to say nothing of
owning first-class stallion. TO be
without such mares is to find difficulty
in marketing stock at good prices, and
the. complainantS therefore infer that
the cream of the trotting stud book will
soon pass into the hands of a few
wealthy holders, who, by reason of their
ability to have the most producing
blood, will meet the greatest success
and reap the profits. As far as fore
sight, judgment and careful manage
ment can master the situation, this view
is doubtless true; but there is the ele-
ment OF luck, which, inefficient in itself
to create results. is nevertheless at
supplementary factor, often potent
enough 10 tip the scale one way or the
other, and bring success and fortune to
a plant that started with unrecognized
merit concealed beneath nOn-faShiOn-
able cloak, or, on the contrary, defeat
the more costly plant that in the gen
eral opinion was bound to achieve
sweeping success. A notable instance
of success outside of advanced theory"
was that of G. w. Williams, of Axtell
fame, who started with two mares dis
carded by a most discriminating and
prominent breeding firm, because they
were at that time non-standard, and
with them bred, within two years. the
most remarkable trio of trotters that
have fallen to the luck of one breeder
III decade.