The Washington herald., 1912-09-29
BY L. D. SALE.

l extreme moisture east or the AleBnenles-
Few horses like TO race In the mud and
no horseman likes II little bit Joe
Patchen II. however. and Braden Direct
did not seem to mind 1t much at Column
bus on Tuesday, when the first-named
paced three heats in 2:05h. 2:06ia, and
2;or1. 1t was the black four-year-old
colt Wydrad that forced the Patchen
horse out each heat in this fast time on
a heavy track. The Director General
stallion Is one Of the best young PAGERS
OF any year. and IL he retires sound Is
bound TO be one Of the star PAGERS Of
1913
Braden Direct. another young stallion.
| put II all over his fast field in the Board
| of Trade Stakes on the same day. MUIR
phys Longworth B. being the horse that
made him pace the first heat in 2:04%
and the second in 2:06. In the third and
| last heat knight Onwardo took up the
| chase and drove the black colt out In
s:oiiz. The present has been most en-
phatically PAGERS year, and during the
| season some of the best young PAGERS
OF any year have flashed before the pub
| lic Braden Direct and Wydrad are re-
lated. Both trace TO Director, 2:17, the
frst-named through Direct, 2:05h. a son
Of Director, and the last-named through
| the Director General, who Is a son of
Director. Many of the sons and daugh-
| tiers Of Director have shown an incllna-
| ton to pace.
Direct. 2:OSIs. was first trained and
raced at the 'trot getting a record at
| that gait of 2:lsls, We believe, at Sagi-
| nav, Mich. In conversation had with
the writer in the early sos in this city
Monroe Salisbury, owner Of Direct, re-
marked that Direct became a PAGER
through an accident. In one OF his
races. he said, the stallion threw a shoe
that wounded him severely, and he began
to prefer the pacing gait. AS he seemed
quite handy at II, Salisbury let him have
his way. and Kelly, his then trainer,
dove him to a record of 2:o6Is. Directum.
26A. for many years champion trotting
stallion, until Cresceus uncrowned him,
was very handy at the pace
During his last season on the turf he
would frequently break into a pace, due
probably more from severe soreness than
any predisposition to go at the diagonal
gait Director was strictly trotting bred.
His sire, Dictator, never paced; Dolly, |
the dam of Director. was a trotter. and
was the mother of trotters, as well as
one OF the greatest Of brood mares. She |
was the dam also OF Onward. 2:25A, and |
of Thorndale. and all Of these noted |
sires were by different horses, which en-
phasizes the greatness of this daughter |
OF Mambrino Chief Directly 2:03S. was
in his first year out the champion three !
year-old PAGER.
The Governor OF Maryland, in regard |
TO closing the running track at Havre de |
Grace. seems to be as tightly sewed up |
as those victims OF the Sultan who are |
sacked and thrown into the dark waters |
Of the BOsphorus. Gov. Goldsborough |
could have saved himself from much |
trouble, modification, and vexation. and |
the State of Maryland from much scan
dal, had he exercised a keener scrutiny |
OF the bill granting the Havre de Grace i
franchise and trusted less TO his alleged |
friends. For the Governor TO now at
tempt to palliate his action on the plea |
that he was deceived will not absolve |
him from executive responsibility. AS
Governor of Maryland. IL Is his sworn I
duty. TO know the character and effect |
Of bills offered him for his signature. The |
Attorney General OF Maryland is rated |
as an able lawyer. Was he. too. asleep
when the bill was passed and Maryland
handed over to the gamblers and the
hOdge-podge OF Baltimore, Philadelphia,
and New York? These are important
questions, that the decent citizens OF
Maryland will demand shall he answered
in the near future. The pulpits OF BaltI-
more may thunder their Ioudest and dis
charge their bolts, but they will be harm
less. The Governor may marshal the
State police, but he is powerless against
the decision OF the courts. But one ave-
nue. OF escape is open to him. viz: a
call for special session of the State
Legislature, and even then it is an in
teresting question as to whether relief
will be had. unless an anti-betting law
is made direct issue before the people.
Secretary Of the Laurel Track Brown
has clarified the question put to him two
Sundays ago in regard 10 harness racing
at his track during the coming meeting
by answering in the affirmative. He has
announced that he will give a
three-day harness meeting the last three
days of the fair, with purses ranging
from 800 to 500. The card is more allur-
ing to horsemen in this section than was
the one Of 1911, when some of the very
best stables in the Grand Circuit con-
Tended for the large purses hung up.
The high reputation for extreme speed
Of foreign horses scared away many local
horse owners, only Berka and Miss Ku-
shan accepting the issue. If Secretary
Brown viii wisely arrange his card all,
or nearly all, Washington horses will be =.
entered. The trotters and PAGERS owned :
It this point have demonstrated that they !
ire able to hold their own in any field of !
heir class. While we have never IA
l.
'unning Gas there is nothing in common :
n the way of gait between the thor
'ughbred and the light-harness horse), :
Is not always wise to discard even a '
lah loaf when 1t Is absolutely certain
hat whole one cannot be had. Laurel,
although some .twenty-three miles north !,
4 Washington, may fairly be considered
IS in this bailiwick. This being the case, y
are indirectly interested Il
It least to seeing the Laurel track kept
lp to a high standard, and this, We have .
eason to believe, the promoters of the :,
laurel course intend to do. i
They always do big things in a big i
way at Columbus, Ohio. The harness
vents at that point always attract the
ttention of light-harness horsemen In {
very part OF the United States. The =
urses are always large. and the man.
cement of the track of the highest or ',
er. The course is one of the fastest,
not the fastest. in the world. Only
ne other track has ever been its rival %
nat located at Terre Haute. Ind. A
arge proportion of the horses that race
here In the fall months are on their
eenest edge, and records usually fall
early every day. The fHturity events at q
are only equaled by those c
hitch are pulled off at Lexington. There
ias some most excellent racing in the
hio town on Wednesday, and some sur
rises. While every one who has r
the performances Of the brown
eter the Great colt. Dave Halle. in Muir
hy's stable, no one expected that he
,f1trlA ha uft t,s- rrs,- 1, In