St. Paul daily globe., 1892-06-27
Hiram Woodruff a Shot at the
Auction Block as a Clear
ing House.
UselesSneSS Of the MultitudeS
of NO-AccOunt TpOtterS
for Any Purposes.
Size and Temper Placed in
the Light Of a Lifetime
Of Experience.
Programme for the Roches-
ter Three-DayS' Races
in July.

The following article, by that prince
of turfmen, Hiram Woodruff, is so full
of sound horse sense and 50 pertinent
to the subject discussed that the GLOBE
is pleased to give it space, almost in
full as it appeared in Clark'S Horse Re-
view of June Z:
In the business of breeding for trot-
ters, as in any other vocation in which
the many may engage, supply and de-
nand, and the grade of goods produced,
will control the selling price of the
article put on the market. The in
creaSing number of good race tracks,
and the offer of very liberal purses and
small entrance fees, will stimulate the
effort to produce and influence the
value of the harness race horse. But it
must now be clearly evident to all read
ing, thinking breeders, that the breed
ing of trOtters which can never tr0t.
and which are too small for any general
service, must stop, for already hundreds
of breeders are burdened with this class
and there is no demand for them.
The horse business has become a
very expensive craze. MillionaIres who
became breeders for trotterS, for recre-
alton and pleasure, find in place of
recreation and pleasure q burthen of
two to three hundred head of light har-
ness horses on their hands. with pos
sible ten to fifteen trOtting race horses
among them. Money has been used
without stint, and the best judgment
they had. considering their limited
study of "the problem of breeding,"
but the trotterS with extreme speed
have not, as rule, been produced.
The same experience has followed the
thousands or breeders of all grades, un-
til the woods are full and the country
is over-burthened with no-account trot-
ting-bred horses.
The rich, the middle men. the poor
man, all have INDUCED their fancy and
gotten their fill of very dearIy-bought
experience. They all own lot of trot-
ting-bred horses which cannot trot, and
have not size or temper fitting them for
any general purpose whatever; they
have held and fed until the rich man is
tired and the poor man is trying to look
bankruptcy out of cOuntenance; the
merclless auction block begins to look
inviting, and the stock. few good, many
bad, and great field of Indifferent, is
catalogued for sale.
Can this condition of things continue?
Not long. Then, what will the future
%
them, are built, or being built. much
money is being offered in rich stakes
and purses. betting Oh races is, and will
ever be, unless stamped out by the Iron
hand of law" a popular means of get
ting cash without loss of perspiration, or
the growth OF horns on the hand, and
hence will continue and grow; so all
these stlmulantS to light harness racing,
as an American twin sport to base bail,
will stay.
The time may be fastened when
bishop and preacher, class leader and
Sunday school teacher, with the church
going masses, will go to the race track
as they go to the county fair, but first
the sport must be cleaned and pruned
of g)arng abuses.
Look I'D the reports of the auction
sales OF 1SS9-90-91 and '92 note the down
tendency of prices, until thousands of
horses bred in the purple" sell for
speed sell for good prices. 1t seems so
plain, fool, even though a horseman.
may read the handwriting on the wall
as he runs. The breeding for speed
horses must crystalize, and will, per
force of circumstances.
we greenleS in the business are pet
ting our fill of very costly education as
10 morse business, and must soon save
ourselves by sorrowful turn to chicken
or sheep culture; still, we will cherish
and linger upon the skirts of a former
crazy fancy for ''hoss" at the annual
race meetings, but we will not be breed
ers for trotterS. The horse business
will not entirely collapse and end in
general ruin; not at all, it will clear
itself, the thousands of unsuccessful
Will go out of the business, the monu-
mentS to luck. or brains, will stand the
race tracks will stay, the rich purses
and low entrance fees will stay, and
after the needed and inevitable clearing
process, the clouds will lift and the
clear sunlight will shine upon the
"htteSt" who have survived.
Now, the auctioneer and salesman
are OH top, but they must look to the
fore. for when production has found its
level. when five keen, smart, thinking
men are breeding speed, where 100 men
are now breeding for trotterS, sales will
not be made from the auction block:
devotees of the race track will then buy
racing goods direct of the producer, the
business will then be legitimate, solid
and profitable. Ten good-sized, good-col-
ored, good-disposltioned sires will then
be kept for service and command fair
fee, where there are now a hundred
stations kept to look at and contend
about, but which cannot earn the water
they drink.
Did you ask me about the PAGER u? The
desplsed ''2:25' Side-wheeler has cut
larger figure in the breeding problem
than he bas general credit for, and has
come rapidly to the front during the past
ten years; he is here to stay. both in
speed, gameness, size, beauty, and
popular pull on the race-going masses.
When the crowd tires of the trotting
race. as heavy beverage, the pacing
race is thankfully received, as the cham
payne OF the harness race. Even the
old-time haters of the PAGER now shoe
lighter and allow the Directs and Jay
Eye-Sees to go at their fastest gait. AS
the low level of value in the lateral
gated has been reached. we will now
reach the high level of intrinsic value
of the PAGER. his electric blood will cut
greater figure even than heretofore in
aiding his slower brother to follow him
to the 200 mark.
ROCHESTER, RACES.