The Washington herald., 1915-09-06
Suggestion of Racing 2-Year-
Olds Before April | to Be
Ruled Upon.
DURYEA GIVES REASON

| The meeting of the Jockey Club
which is scheduled for September at
Belmont Park, should be one Of the
must important of the year, for besides
| other busicass the new rule fathered
by Cgi:. =. =. Cass"tt, which would
r.:t tan on all 2-year racing
prIor to April |. will come a2 20" con-
| .ii.rstiou. The premature racing OF
:-ycnr-oldS has been NcXtns prob
,cT-, not only 20 the racing authorl-
ties nut 10 those who have an eye TO
The future of the turf and indirectly
to horse breeding in the United states
Talking upon his subject recently
at Saratoga Mir. Herman IL. Duryea. the
noted American sportsman. who has
been racing his horses in France and
England Ivr some years. and who now
h,s upwards Of 100 head OF thorough
brcd< !ntcrn"d ir the former country,
said:
In France no @-year-old is eligible
TO rae until July l. the French gov
cvnmrnt. iE its wise control Of the
sport ruling that the early racing OF
:-year-oIdS is injurious. and that the
influence OF SUCH Il course IS bound to
Iv harmful Wherever II Is practIc@i.
Racing calls for the supremest effort
the horse can give, and IL would be
'iT:.e a. sound Gor US 10 argue that an
immature youth could do the work of
Il man whose muscular and nervous
powers have reached the maximum. l
have long claimed that the early and
too frequent racing of s-year-olds has
given lot OF cripples and sprint
els.'
Isn't il a fact that this plan has
been encouraged by some of the breed
ers and owners themselves. who saw a
ill.
ment?' Mr. Duryea was asked.
Want Two-.car-oIds.
'I'nqu, siionably.'' was the reply
''Those who conducted racing during
the winter months found that the
public. always seeking novelty in the
way Of a pr r'Cram. were eager to see
the babies as they were called. and
the Practice OF having contests for
youngsters in March finally became
fixtures i'll February. From that it
was only step to January. and in
some localities races for 2-year-olds
were held oI. JauUar: |. the very day
the u@dcveloped thorouEhbTcds be-
came tcChuI"al!y 2-year-oldS.
As matter of fact none. or very
few. would he fully years of age
before February or MarCh---ln some
ca,-s ~ la," rs June Ey this pro-
cess tho breeders had the keep of
months N addition to the other fixed
"haIGes of his stud to meet. and the
saving appealed TO him. The purChas-
rrs of the warnings had the CoiOrs
up within five or six months. and so
the evIl grew. Youngsters bought for
trlfe perhaps started right in to
win races. and oftentimes changed
hands FIR as many thousands they
had cost hundreds The glamor and
profit OF this sort of thing appealed
to the cupiditY of many who gave no
thought to the future. and our whole
turf fabric has suffered a con-
sequence.
THE very early races are usually
at u quarter of a mile What trav
esty," continued Mr. Duryea. In
France the 2-,"tr-oids start right in
nj distances equivalent to six fur
longs. and they have what the United
States must strive to produce II pro-
gress is to he made in the matter
of horse breeding lot of thorough
hreds that can stay and carry weight.
Those who operate plants where VIM
ter racing is conducted should he the
first 10 approve of capt Cassatts plan.
In Favor of Move.
Its adoption will mean sounder and
better horses. and they will b" avail
able for racing much longer than
thing over I-year-Old is designated
passe have heard il said that there
was 4 disposition to Sidc-Step the issue
because Of opposition in certain quarters.
Kentucky would scarcely want to run
any 2-yrar-olds prior I" April !. and GER
tainlv the Canadians. whose sport Is gem
c:allv iraugurlt"d around Victoria Day
May 2t--should he in accord with the
JOCKEY clubs policy. BY all means let us
nave IL. and later on. when the benefits
are plain, Il will lie in line 10 make the
date May !. and the day il is July l will
spell progress for the American turf.
When asked about his own s'lc""sses
abroad which include Derby and Two
Thousand in England with lIu~har and
Sweeper IL respectively. horses OF his
cwr h:ea linz. besides other horCrs on the
Continent Nj Durvca was. usual.
modest. though h. was rnthusiSasti" in
speaking OF Irish Lad the hiG brown
sol, OF CanllcIras whom turf followers
will always admir-" for his speed and
courage. particularly IN tho memorable
battle with H-oomstck in the record
breaking Brighten Handicap. in which
ne broke down. ON that occasion he
Eavn ISroor,1st:ck lot OF weight, and
though he finished on three legs. he was
ut the !itt!c Sa;ucCOck's throat latch at
the wirc II is fitting that both these
good h"rs. should have made good in
::rc StI,.
Irish Lad has been success" said
Mr.. Duryra. AMI he has sired some
very good horses for me. notably Blar
,rcy and Shannon. The former was con-
sidcrcd AS good Il colt there was in
France Had not kept Irish Lad a $ n
private sire his reputation would have
ben much enhanced. 1t was mistake