The Washington herald., 1912-01-07
BY. L. ID. SALE.

are the horse owners OF the District Of
Columbia going to do about it?
The nearest track 70 Washington is
the one at ForestvilIe, Prince George
County, which is eight miles distant
The distance would not be so very OBJ
5ectionabIe II transportation could be had
TO and from the track by rail The
horse owners OF Washington are all en-
gagged in some line of business. AS mat
ters now stand. a horse owner SO engaged
must spend the greater part OF day
al track II he wishes 10 visit his horse
and see him work, and necessarily he
is forced TO neglect his business just that
much Il is obvious, then, that IL the
light harness horse industry is TO thrive
ri this point a half-mile track must be
had as close to the city limits as pos
Eible, and in a locality easily reached by
either trolley or steam and over good
public roads.
Il is agreed upon by every horseman
in the District of Columbia that a track
where horses may be trained. and where
also racing may be had, is an absolute
necessity. Under present conditions
there is little incentive for any lover of
the light harness horse to invest his
money in one. As a prominent horse
man remarked a few days since to the
writer: Suppose l go TO New York and
invest $500 or 1900 in horse. what VIII
] do with him after ] have bought him?
We have no speedway. and we have no
track on which We can speed horses.
When we do have one or the other. am
willing again 70 spend a few hundred
dollars on a horse that will be credit
10 Washington" The gentleman referred
to was none other than George W. Good
acre, who has spent more money on
good horsefiesh than any other one horse
lover in the District.
What is everybody's business is no.
body's business. With every one agreed
that a track is an absolute necessity. the
time has arrived for concentrated action.
Some one must take the initiative. Talk
that produces nothing is a mere waste
OF breath and time. Let those gentle
men who are so deeply interested in the
subject do something. Let them get to-
Eether in some convenient spot and de-
eide upon a plan of action. Then let
them go out and search for a piece Of
land suitable for a track and club
house and stables, and ascertain for what
it can be bought. Get estimates for track
construction and buildings. and submit
the same to those persons they wish TO
have associated with them. This Is the
month OF January. 1t will soon be Feb
ruary. and by the middle OF March it Will
he time to begin to jog horses that are
TO be raced and developed.
Talk is cheap. but it takes money to
buy land and construct a track and build
ings. Either the men here who own
horses and have money, and who are
cIamoring so loudly for a track near
Washington, are in earnest, or they are
rank buffers. The time is close at hand
when they must either put up or shut
up. We are among those who believe
they will put up. They are all good, sub
stantial citizens, and have the interests
Of the light harness horse close at heart.
There is much 10 be done before the
work OF construction can begin, and the
most important OF all the work, aside
from raising the means necessary to
finance the enterprise, is the selection Of
p site for the plant. There will naturally
he wide difference of opinion on this
subject when it is brought up. The
Bladensburg people-that is, the light
harness end of them-are anxious that
the site be selected in the neighborhood
Of that town. II a spot for a track can
be found in the vicinity OF the town at
reasonable figures. BIadensburg presents
attractions that no other town close to
of trolley cars and one steam line pass
through the village.
The soil in the vicinity of Bladensburg
is suitable for track purposes. But 81. 900
an-acre land will not do. Some spot
must be selected very near farm land
prices. Men interested in the project
should be able, after diligent inquiry, to
discover where that kind Of land can be
had. John Preston. one of the foremost
leaders in the new half-mile track move
ment, says he thinks he can find II. Let
Mr.. Preston constitute himself a COM
mittee Of one and proceed at once on
his mission. Let him act as the bell
wether in this project so dear to the
hearts Of local horsemen, and report.
He may rest assured that the balance
Of the flock will follow, II they break a
leg in the trial.
In the spring sale to be held in New
York City there will be some excellent
chances for local horsemen to recruit
their ranks and get rid Of some Of their
junk, II any they have. Junk Is a harsh
term to apply to a horse, especially when
II Is applied to ones own holdings. But
the best of horses become, in time, what
Is termed as Junk" The term is meant
10 apply to horses no longer fitted for
the service for which they were bred.
Horses become aged or worn or out
classed, and are cast into the scrap heap
by men who indulge In racing. Out
ciaBsed horses. in most large cities, find
their way to the speedways and become
what Is known as FUN horses" We
no longer have a speedway In Washing
ton in the proper sense Of the term
hence there is no longer a market here
for purely speedway horses of the out
on regulation tracks are stiIl, and always
will be, in demand. Peter LOTUS pur-
chased Miss Arcola when she was a
high-class speedway mare, and she is yet
Now that the speedway we once had has
vanished, Peter is in a quandary as to
what shall be his next move.
To change the subject, there is an un-
usual dearth Of highly bred and produc-
Ing brood mares in this section OF coun-
Try. The same condition exists In other |
parts Of the Knitted States. II is only |
within the past thirty years that the !
light harness brood mare has become |
In this country equal in value with the |
sire. The Arabs Of the desert have for |
hundreds OF years placed greater value |
1n the mare than on the sire. The latter |
may be purchased. but Il requires a |
great deal OF diplomacy and considerable |
hard cash to induce q son Of the desert |
10 part with his mare. One of his prov
srbs Is, From the mare comes forth |
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