The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-07
RACING IMPROVES
 BREED OF HORSES The Truth Brought Home te
 Uncle Sam CAVALRY HORSES FEW Several Important Matters to Come Up at Meeting of Stewards of Grand Circuit at Waldorf
 Astoria Next Week
CAVALRY HORSES FEW
By JAMES DoCKERALL

By JAMES DoCKERALL { New York, January 6.-(Special) )-When l the light was on against racing in New | fork, the claim that theprime reason for
 the encouragement of racing was the i'm proyement of the breed of horses was
 looked upon as joke.
 Uncle Sam has found that it was no
 joke, but very serious reality, for since
 racing on the big tracks has been stopped
 the question of securing remounts for the | United States cavalry has become one which causes the big men in the army no | little bother.
 Tho thoroughbred is an ideal cavalry l horse and in the breeding of them for rac- l ing purposes there were thousands or horses, not quite good enough for the | races, which were available for the army. | Now it will be necessary for the gov ! ernment to take hold of this problem, ana l Congress already Is being asked to pro- | vide the money to encourage the bReeding
 of proper army horses.
 | The plan of George M. Rommel, chief | of the animal husbandry division of tho Department of Agriculture, includes the l division of the country into four breeding
 districts, and the purchase of 50 thorough
 bred stallions, 25 standardbreds, 15 saddle i stallions and 10 Morgans. The United l States would be given option on the out l put of the four districts. He proposes
 the appropriation for the purpose of $2oo,- | 900 the first year and $100,000 in each suc- | ceeding year.
 1 Mr Rommel declares that the govern
 ment would be assured of getting what
 ever horses it might need in the future,
 and the office of the quartermaster's de-
 pertinent would be enabled to keep in | close touch with the horse breeding fn- 1 dustry The success of the plan, he be- l lieyes, is forecasl by the use of the two
 stallions given the government last year by August Belmont, and which have been
 at the government remount station at Fort Royal, Va.
 1 'eThe work in carriage horse breeding, In | cooperation with the Colorado experi-
 ment station, may have some bearing On
 the work of breeding army horses. but | the stallions bred in that project should
 make useful sires of artillery remouhts,
 he saws, "and the Morgan horse farm may produce some of the stallons needed | for the New England district of the army l horse breeding project. However, 1t should
 be stated that neither project was outlined
 with the army demand in view The
 army horse project, therefore, if provid-
 ed for by Congress, will have no effect ] whatever on the purpose, plan or methods l of either the carriage horse or Morgan
 breeding projects, but horses bred at these stations may be used incidentally in the army work
 He says that foreign countries nave found it necessary to encourage the preed- ing of horses for military purposes, and that the difficulty and expense of obtain ing suitable horses is shown by the scarcl- tv of animals for the mounted police or the large cities. He also says that good horses are required for the militia.
 MT, Rommel says about 2000 horses are required for the army each year, put that with the army on war footing, at ieast s5Oo0O a year would be needed, and that during war time complete new issue would | he rseouired every four or six months. rhe nresent refnount system, under. which there are three remount stations used TOT inc purchase of young remounts, IS
 working very satisfactorily he says put
 if will never be effective until steps are taken to alleviate the present scarci'y oi horses of the type needed.
 MT. Rommel points out that the general effect of the plan on horse breeding wouid he decidedly benefcal,' that IL Wouiu tend to specialize horse breeding, that IL would tend to discourage the breedlhs ol unsound horsse, and would open up the market for horses of the breeding type by creating a supply that foreign buyers soon would take.
 trbe stewards of the Grand Circuit meet ot the NValworf- Astoria next week. SeV- xa. nnsound horses, and would open up the the forming of the major racing creui. a for the light harness horse season or I9l-' Two and probably more applications lroii new clubs will be received.
 The circuit as made up last season start ed with a meeting at 1ndlanapolls anu Ne'' followed by meetings at kalamazoo' Grand Rapids. Detroit, North Randall Fort Erie. Goshen, Readville, Hartford Syracuse and Detroit state fair. Colulh bus was awared dates, being gwen 'he week following the Detroit state lair anu preceding Lexington. but as the Coiuiii- bus association desires to give wv weeks meeting, they withdrew rom tue circuit and gave three weeks Of racins< ,ndonendent of the Grand Circuit. Lexing- ton as usual, gave an lhuepShuS"e ing early in october.
 Since last winter, when the steWalus met a great change has come over ,i.e trotting horse situation. One or the DIS deals consummated was the purchasing of the controlling interest in the hen- lucky Trotting Horse Breeders ass"e'a- ~
 ton by a group of inf1uehtiai pusllieSs
 men. including w. B. Dickerman, C. K. d' killings. w. C. Brown, H. K. DeVerauX' R Coxe and others. It is needless to say that these horsemen, who are III the snort simply for the sport there ls III It. l win do anything they can so far as Lex ington is concerned to keep the sport lree l from criticism and animosity.
 An application for membership aireauy
 received comes from Pittsburgh, and II would not be surprising were the oteei ] City horsemen awarded dates
 That there will be considerable change 1 in the makeup of the circuit IS assureu. i Indianapolis will not try to give another
 meeting so early in the season, but It
 would like to secure dates in September | or whereabouts.
 Hartford will come out next season
 stronger than in several years, or the l s1OOO0O that is to be expended in improV- ing Charter Oak park, S4O,0oo of it will be
 spent in the new grandstand. A bigger
 trotting meeting. with larger purses Will
 be given. which will make Hartioru
 magnet for the majority of Grand circuit l horsemen.