Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1901-01-09
THE DoPING OF HORSES.
Some of the Methods of interruptions
Thoroughbred Owners

some OF the Hethods OF Unscrup ulOn0
Thoroughbred Owners
Doping" or administering stimu.
hating food to horses has been prac.
tioed in England for the past FIVE
hundred years. In fact, it was recog-
niDed and regulated by acts of parlia-
ment many years ago. In dhe old
days, when travelling ON horseback
was the popular method for journey.
ing about the country, Ia traveller who
desired to save time hired "a horse of
superior speed which had been fed ON
Ia diet of bread, to the staple dngre.
dienlts of which had been added
Gcorice, aniseed, genltain, a harbac-
eous plant possessed of tonic qualities,
and fenngreek seed, which was also
stimulating in its effects. The add.
ton of these Ingredients had the effect
OF giving the horse greater speed and
endurance. I'm the course Of recent
researches by an English authority, 1t
was found that this stimulating
bread was fed to racehorses in train
ing ait Newmarket over "a hundred
years ago. During the preparatory
course of rT,aining, which lasted from
two weells to "a month, different
amounts of these stimulating drugs
were mixed with the food and the
practice became quite prevalent. Ex-
periments were tried which proved
THAT horses fed ON the prepared food
were the better animals by ten pounds
over those who had been fed On hay
and corn. For some reason or other,
the method of training fell into disuse
in course of time. In a1l probability
the substitution of light for heavy
weights and the shortening OF the
distances We're factors i'm the case 1t
has been proved that a horse fed ex.
clusively on grass cannot be as good
as when fed ON HAY and corn, while,
at the same time, unless given strong
work horses fed on the latter diet
gain greatly i'm weight.
That drugs are being administered
TO race horses in a condensed form, at
the present time, is only a natural re-
suit in the advance of science It is
the fact that they ARE not used con-
tfnually, after being once administer
ed, that causes the changed form of
the horses from race to race On the
outlaw tracks OF Maryland, several
years ago, the practice of doping"
horses with the view OF increasing
their speed qualities was openly car
ried on with the full knowledge and
consent of the nacing officials But
once done, rule was passed and
Vigorously enforced, insisting that the
horse who was once "doped" should
receive the hypodermic injection or
capsule of dope" before every future
race in which he started. On the
Jockey club tracks i'm this country,
doping" IS not permitted, but it Is
done secretly and with little fear OF
detection or rather Of punishment, for
the experienced racing man has little
difficulty in detecting "a horse which
has received artificial stimulation, by
the manner in. which the thorough
bred ects, his fiery and vigorous at.
tempts to aH once dash off. the pro-
fuse perspiration th-'t breaks through
his skin and the generally changed
actions while on the way to and while
ait the post. Many trainers claim that
at is absolutely necessary to dope"
some horses in order to make them
display all their speed.-The Brooklys
Times.