The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-04-07
THE HARNESS HORSE, !
Ahead for TrOtters q
PAGERS.
Entries at Fleetwood Driver Trainer Kelly Thinks Roth
Are Likely to Be Lowered-GrOwth o. Harness Racing

Copyrighted

win the phenomenal increase in the num-
ger OF speedy animals. but, as / have said.
l quite as much has come by reason of
me Improvement in methods. harness.
sulkfes and tracks
For the general Improvement Of the
morse perhaps the Breeding of the last
Few Years has been too fine. Il has made
horses that can go single miles at speed
tnat even Robert Bonner thought impos-
s.oe only few years ago. but none
OF these record horses probably could
90 what the 'hVe-mile and repeat horses
OF hiram and Isaac Woodruns time used
70 40 and SO the grade of the gentleman S
ROAD horses has not improved in any de-
gree approaching the Improvement that
mas been made by the track trotter.
There has been one great change within
the last Few years that has greatly i'm
pressed me, and that is the alteration that
has taken place in the attitude of the
public toward PAGERS. 1t is not so many
years ago that 'side-wheelers' were sneered
a. so to speak, both on the track and on
the road. Even so late as when Maud s.
was clipping a quarter of a second from
the record every once in while, and the
announcement that either she or any
otner of the crack trotters would show
themselves would draw out immense
crowds fairly emptying all the surround
ing towns and villages. PAGERS who could
make better time than any of the trotters
did not receive much attention. IL did not
annoy a man with a fast trotter to be
passed on the road by a man with a fast
PAGER, and the prices of PAGERS were away
below those of trOtters. It's different now
PAGERS We're first popular in the middle
west but they're getting to be popular
everywhere. Even around New York
they're TO be seen almost as frequently
on the road as tvOtters. In Boston too.
PAGERS are to-day held in great esteem.
In the vicinity of New York. in some
parts of Kentucky, at Saratoga, and in
some other sections of the country, run
ming races are more popular than har-
ness contests, but there is no doubt what
ever that the trotter and PAGER interests
are immensely larger than the running in
terests. l have not the slightest idea how
many trotting tracks OF all sorts there
are in existence, but 9SS or nearly thou
sand are indexed in the Year Book as be-
ing the scenes of matches of sufficient
Importance for record. At the very lowest
calculation these ought to be counted
worth an average of $4,000 a
piece, for, while some of them
are worth much less, some are
worth many times as much. including the
real estate occupied and the buildings and
all. That way of figuring It would make
the total investment IN tracks alone not
much less than $4,000, COO and the sum
for trotting and pacing, in sulkies and har-
nesses, in breeding farms, exercising
tracks etc. must amount to an enormous
sum, though just how much 1 wouldn t
dare to try to estimate.
The number of persons who are sup
ported by the trotting horse. including
those who breed, drive, care for sell,
furnish supplies and all, must also be
exceedingly large. It's a pure guess. but
I should say that half million wouldn t
be far out of the way. and that would
be one in every 100 of the total population
of the country, counting IL at $4,000, 900.
I've never regarded the matter in that
light till now, but 1 believe these hastily
considered figures would be found to be
under rather than over the facts, if they
could be known.
There's another point of which you
snussn't lose sight. In the old days,
although the Empire State was never
Foremost as a breeding and training
state, in the driving parks at Buffalo.
Rochester, Albany and Utica, 1T possesses
four of the most important links in the
trotting horses chief chain of tracks, the
Grand Circuit and then it was, therefore,
virtually within its borders that the sea-
son must succeed or fail. This is no
longer true. Springfield and Hartford, in
New England dropped out of the circuit
some time ago because of adverse leg
islation. The western tracks increased
so that western horses began to stop at
Buffalo and then return west. Rochester,
once a star of the first magnitude, has
fallen away, Utica and Albany are OUT,
and though New York has come in, the
interest felt here is not what it should
be. and the New York tracks might all
be abandoned without the sports suffer-
ing any vital damage. In Ohio and Indi-
ana. in Illinois Wisconsin and Iowa,in the
-tg,E.- e.Fa Of doh
IL the prairie states of Nebraska, Kan
sas and the Dakotas, and upon the Pacific
slope there are literally hundreds of
tracks where twenty years ago there were
none, and some of these new tracks are
now the crack courses of the country.
Terre Haute, Indianapolis, Columbus,
Galesburg and number Of other towns
might name have remarkably fast and
well-kept tracks, where meetings are at
tended by great throngs. OF the Grand
Circuit tracks, l should say Detroft's and
CIeveland's are the best kept
up In the Fleetwood track New
York has decidedly the poorest course
near any great city, though it is in bet
ter shape this year than ever before
and the entries for the fall meeting are
unprecedented. All trotting men believe
their faVorite sport will take a new lease
of life in New York this year, and that the
renewed interest will be permanent and
greatly promoted by the completion Of the
Harlem river speedway two or three years
hence. II only a first-class track were to
be established near the big city there
need be no fear that there would be any
failure in interest. 1 believe that If the
pool box were to be entirely suppressed
harness racing would receive a terribly
severe blow, though there are places
where the attendance would be large
enough to keep things going. The action
of the Fleetwood people in hanging up
their purses as they promised, and of the
owners in filling the entries so gloriously,
show confidence that there will be some
sort of arrangement made that will be
satisfactory all around. OF course the bet
ting privileges have been abused in the
past on many occasions and almost every
track. and there should be some regula-
ton. perhaps, but for the good Of the sport
the opportunity to bet should not be en-
tirely wiped out"
1t should be said that there are a few
horsemen who think the abolition of the
pool box would be a good thing for har-
ness racing in the long run. If this should
be brought about this year in New York
state. however, they believe sEat all the
empire gate tracks, save Fleetwood. would
be very badly off.
"Old Nan" Bishop, the veteran fsaler,
who loolSs not more than 60, but who
actually q H. and has been active In the