The Washington times., 1901-11-10
PARLOR CARS FOR HORSES
Valuable Racers Now Travel in
the Greatest Luxury.
How the Thoroughbreds Arc Moved
About the Countryside PercautiOn
Too Costly Nervousness Kills
Many Highly Trained Animals.


When the owner of string of thor
oughbred race horses decides to send
the animals from one part of the coun-
| try to another he takes more pains in
arranging for their comfort than he
does for his own for a similar journey
The millionaire railroad president does
not travel in more luxury over his own
road than the race horse, when one esti-
mates luxuries from the standard of
what contributes most to his comfort
The car in which the horse travels is
fitted up with all those things which he
loves most-thick straw under foot, soft,
padded wallsAon either side of him, and
| ventilators over his head to give the
fresh air as essential to his we'll being
as his daily exercise. Every bit of his
| food is picked over before it is given to
| him, and with him night and day are
men whose keen eyes are ready to note
the slightest sign of indisposttion on his
part Altogether, the thoroughbred
race horse on the road is highly pam
pered beast, and would be base in
CRATE not to bring in a few rich purses
| treats him so well.
The owners of valuable racing stock
are not overfond of trusting their bread
winners to the risks of a railroad jour
ney which they and other humans may
be willing to take at any time, for high
ly bred racers are as nervous as old
women, and it takes only little out of
the ordinary to put them on edge.
They are apt to fret and fume during
during the first few hours OF a railroad
journey until they make themselves
sick. Many of them succumb to car
sickness, an ailment which the stable
boys and trainers, with CHARACTERISTIC
disregard for the facts, invariably call
seaaickness, which not seldom kills
them. There are a hundred and one
other reasons why owners do not like
to send their horses away on railroad
journeys, but as horseracing is money
making business and the scene OF ac-
tion is constantly changing, the man
who wants to play the game all the
year round must shift with it. No own
er can afford to have his horses idle Tor
months each year. 1t is only extraordi-
nary animals like Tenny, Salvador,
Domino Tammany, Lamplighter, and
Hamburg that can rest all the fall and
winter and race only in the big spring
and summer handicaps. The greatest
care Is used with horses of this rare
type, for their record is what makes
them valuable when their racing days
are over and they have retired TO the
stud.
With the owners it is different. They
stay for the most part right in New
York during the long spring. summer,
and fall seasons of racing here, but
when the laws of the State say that
racing must stop they must seek new
fields. The exodus at the close of the
New York season is for Washington.
After that many go to New Orleans for
the balance of the winter. Still others
go to the West, while the rest go to the
Southern tracks. In this way the race
horse is kept constantly on the move,
and it has become necessary To accom-
plish the work of moving him with just
as little shock to his delicate nervous
system as possible.
Just after the close of racing at the
Aqueduct track the movement on
Washington, where the Benning season
will open, will be begun. The average
person who reads of the shipment of a
lot of race horses probably imagines
that they are packed into a hurriedly
prepared freight car and hustled TO
their destination like lot OF farm cat
tie. 1t may interest some people TO
know just how the thoroughbred is
shipped in these days, when providing
luxury for beast as well as man is
made a business by big corporations.
One of the big express companies,
whose main offices are in New York,
makes a specially of this work and
keeps cars which are never used for
anything else This company has an
agent who never misses p day at the
racetrack during the season. and
attends to the shin! ing Of all thorough
breds. His eomT@ay gets all the busi-
ness anyhow, and mis- presence at the
racetrack is not rely necessary, but
he is the man who Drilt up this branch
of the business, and it was his, brain
that devised the many little things
which are done for the comfort OF
travelling horses nowadays, So it is
considered best that he shall always be
on the scene The owners of the horses
are grateful enough to pay without
murmuring the high rates which are
charged for the transportation of racing
animals from one place TO another.
The cars in which the thoroughbreds
are placed are built especially for the
purpose. They look very much like or
binary freight cars from the outside,
but inside they are fitted with every
conceivable device to make easier the
troubles of the travelling racer. The
wheels of the car are Of the most mod
ern, improved, and easy running kind,
and the bodies are mounted on the same
springs that one Rnds so comfortable
on a Pullman when a train is going
sixty miles an hour. Inside are a sue
cession of stalls, in each of which is a
great heap of fresh straw. which is
changed every few hours. Everything
around is padded, so that all the lurch-
ing that comes cannot result in serious
injury TO the occupant of the stall.
There is a gangway running past the
stalls, and at either end compartments
for the men and boys whose duty ii is
to watch the horses night and day dur
ing the journey. There are water tanks
and places for the storing of food, am
pie ventilation and light, and altogether
a bout everything that a horse could
ask for If he had the power of speech.
So much for the car. More interesting |