The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-04-28
As 70 COLOR o. HORSES
STUDY OF TT AS APPLIED TO THE
STAKE WINNERS AND THOR
OUGHBREDS
BAYS EXCEED OTHER coLoRs
In TrOttsrs of Renown They Els
pecialIy observation-disclosures
Prejudice Against White
and Black Horses.

There are many traditions connected
with the color of horses, although
as matter of fact 1t is of
very little consequence, and no
rule can be laid down as to any
special merit belonging to any. In this
age Of the world it is needless to say that
the color Of q horse has nothing 20 do
with his constitution. An enthusiastic
turf writer in the East recently took oc-
casion to look up the winners Of the
Brooklyn handicap and two other events
[ for the past ten years for the purpose Of
ascertaining the color of the successful
runners. The predominating color in TIE
Brooklyn was bay, there being six Of thai
shade to one of brown and three of
chestnut. The suburban for ten ye1Rs la d
as winners four bays, three chestnuts
two blacks and one brown The Realiza-
ton Stakes had five chestnuts, three pays
and two browns. For ten years, then, in
the three events, of winners there were
thirteen bays, eleven chestnuts, four
browns and two blacks. AS color bay
predominates among horses, and it would
be difficult to find a race, either running
or trotting, with ten entries that the ex-
cess of bays did not amount to at least
| 40 per cent
The great racers Of England have near
" all been brown or dark bays as for in
stance, Lottery, Cadland, Birmingham
Muley, Molock, Tom Boy, Mango, Lauer-
coast, Flying Dutchman, Voltigeur, Sheet
Anchor, Weatherbit, Beadsman, Rosicru-
clan and Beauclere. A most remarkable
change of color, and with 1t also type,
has been seen in connection with Hermit
the notable English sire, whose get was
, the fashion in England a dozen years ago
Hermit's sire was bay horse of a par
ticularly marked bay family, and yet
Hermit was chestnut, and 1t is said that
he was the only one Of that color that his
dam ever threw. The offsprings OF Her
NIT are chestnuts. He has score of sons
and daughters that have made their
mark. among them being Thebias, Mel
lie. St. Marguerite, Shotover. Tristan
Peter and st. Blaisdel.- The merits of
these horses have been transmitted rcou-
larly from generation to generation. 1t
is not a little singular, however that tas
color Of the best Of a sort is frequently
seen to change completely after a certain
number of generations, and that the new
color is the lasting one and contains the
best characteristics Of the sort It is
affirmed that horses get one type of ex-
cellence, and that is marked by color
That is. if the produce Of certain horse
of marked characteristics run to a Gel
tain color, that color Will represent the
best of get. and those of another color,
the odd one will be no good
Among the tFotters of renown the ma
jority are bays. The Abbott, 2:03A, is a
bay, as is Alex. 2:03& Star Pc inter-, john
r. Gentry. Prince Alert, all racers, with
records below 2:e3 are bay, while Joe
Patchen. 2:01A, is jet black, with viii e
stockings. Flora TEMPLE, so long queen
of the turf, was a bay. and her great
compeers, Goldsmith Maid. 2:14 st Ju-
Ian. who first made a record below the
teens, We're bays; Maxey Cobb, who held
the stallion record dozen years ago.
was a bay, and Fhallas, who wrested tbs
championship from him, is a bay; Cling
stone. the "trotting machine" was a
bay; in short, the fast horses among the
bays are legion. Among the c5rd
holders of the past, Maud S.. was a
chestnut; Sunol, a bay; Jay-Eye-See. a
black. and Hopeful. a gray. For a long
time prejudice attached to a white horse
on account of the fabulous tradition that
they could not stand the cold, because
white was a non-conductor of heat The
same tradition existed with regard to
black horses, on the other extreme; as
black is conductor of heat. black
horse will succunlb to the enervating
heat Of summer.
The diversity and universally Of color
in horses, as In other animals, is a
provision OF nature, and the cause Of it
cannot be explained by finite minds. Why
there should be more bay horses than
gray, more browns than gray, more grays
than black Is a problem. No more can
it explain why the union of a black re
with gray dam may result in chest
nut, brown. black or gray Offspring; or
why the union Of the same color may