The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-10-10
RACING TWo.YEAR.OLD
Deterioration Of the Thoroughbred Ii
Undouhfcdly Caused BY Il.

lovers OF the Thoroughbred. I con
fess IN interest Of long standing In
this matter. and my " conviction
that ~two-year-old racing Is unfortunate.
unnecessary and brings actual harm to
the breed has been formed through study
and observation quite Independent OF
financial Interest either for or against.
I cannot sagree with Mr.. Leo A.. Marsh.
who replied In the New York Telegraph
that the matter In his opinion was
Viewed a bit too alarmingly by Captain
Cassatt.
II there be strong indication that two
year-oid racing Is injuring the breed.
and such Indication unquestionably Ia
strong. then thoroughbred interests
through the Jockey Club should investl-
gate the matter with completeness to
prove or dlsprove II. " such "a thing be
possible. II proved beyond reasonable
doubt the same interests should dictate
its curtailment or cessation else we can
rightly be accused by succeeding gener.
ations OF not caring % long az we our.
selves escaped the deluge.'
Light bone. little substance and high
strung nervous temperament are essen-
tial attributes of the Splinter. With
sprinting races the feature. and they
seem to be in most OF our associations.
breeders are practically forced to Sc
lect and breed to the blood lines of
sprinters. in other words to select and
breed to infcriority. While short dis
lance races need not be entirely abol-
ished. they should involve nothing but
| purses. and these OF only sufficient gem
| erosity Ia prevent the insists from being
a dead loss to breeders and owners. \
race Of less than one mile might wisely,
| for horses of proper maturity. be recoe-
| nized and classed as a race for the
insists.
That t~wo-year-Old racing is Injurious
to the individual from a biological point
OF view admits OF little doubt. In order
to get the baby horse ready for his two
year-old form II is a recognized prin-
ciple that his growth must be forced
lie Is by unnatural means pushed to
| early maturity. and in practically all
forms OF life early maturity means early
| decay. In other words. II maturity l.;
FASTENED decay likewise Ia FASTENED, and
though the breeder may have turned
over his money more quickly by dis
posing of him in the yearling sales. stil,
when the animal comes back to him as a
brood mare or stallion it's days of use
fulness and profit are undoubtedly short
ened to an extent that would have made
II far more profitable to the breeder Ia
keep and feed the animal another year
in the start. Moreover. 80 far as the
cost of feed Itself is concerned. the
breeders of the best yearl!ngs that APP
pear in our annual sales of to-day have
forced enough feed into them to keen
them without a single pang of hunger
for another whole year. were Il given
to them In more rational ANA natural
quantities.
That peer Of American breeders the
late Major Foxhall A. Daingerfield told
me in n conversation upon his topic
that he considered the racing of two
year-olds as little slort OF "A crime
! the baneful influences OF which could not
remain unnoticed by the observing, In
~vestigating and thoughtful breeder. As
he stated. and as ! am convinced from
my own observations, the man who loves
the thoroughbred more than he loves the
business Of racing deplores a two-year-
old race.
MFR. Marsh IL quite right when hs
GAYS that in any year Of racing a com
%paratively few individuals. perhaps only
one or two, stand out as exceptional,
but why IL II hat this exceptional IN
dividual SO frequently proves a disma
failure in the stud? Bruce loves the
DRY that his pedigree may possibly he
deficient In the sire families ! re
gard as the purest of fancy. Mendel'
ism may explain 1t. but Baron Won Oct
tingen In his great work. "Horse Breed
Ing In Theory and Practice" gives us y
key that is worthy OF careful consider
alton. All repression tables show M
beyond any possible doubt that although
the exceptional individual may. and fire.
quently does. spring from mediocre par
entaee. we may positively expect thu
highest ratio OF exceptional Individual
to spring from ~parentage that is itse.
exceptional. Baron Won oettinren shows
us that since about 1851 the produC
tsvty of Thoroughbred mares has de
creased. that the lives OF both stations
and mares have shortened. that pre-
potency at advanced age has material,
decreased. and that this swing towarC
deterioration occurred In precisely tn
same decade AS the number OF sprintinl
races luuder one mile) reached an
thereafter exceeded the number OF race!
one mile and over, and the number o
t~wo-year-old race horses reached an'
thereafter exceeded the number Of three
year-old race horses. This is evidence
enough in itself TO condemn the new
and Justify a prompt return to the ole
conditions. But he further shows tina
OF the ga horses which won at seve'
years old ard older only eight had par
ents both of which ran az two-year-olds
and these only TO "A very limited extent
Can IL be denied that these facts poln
with almost conclusive certainty to on
present day exceptional individuals a.
having had their vitality slapped to sucl
an extent through early or eNcessiv
racing or both Al to affect inJuriousl,
9th their longevity and their power
Of reproduction?
II IL, furthermore, a well known an'
accepted principle OF breeding that tn
young growing animal which has It's dc
velopment interfered with. be It through
hunger. sickness, exposure or othe
cause, rarely II ever regains what hat
been lost. In the military servic,
we know from experience that the inn
mature horse Gone under six years q
age) If pu to and continued at heav.
work becomes u candidate for inspec
ton and condemnation at a time whel
we would reasonably expect him to b.
in his prime. Immaturity means soft
ness OF bone and bodily structure tina
forced feeding and careful work an,
training m possibly overcome. Tn,
best horse ever foaled can. ~ n two
year-old. he broke down. and this, du
to variations In growth ant develop
ment. may be easier done perhaps tha'
to break down one which as "A mature,
horse would possess far greater inferi
GRITTY ~ conformation. speed. stamini
and endurance,
Though 1t is quite possible that
tN o-year-old racing career may COZ
rectly discover and single out the ex
ceptional individual OF the year, at wha
a frightful cost Il liz lone II II deprive
to his SONS aud his daughters the 81
perior qualities that have crowned hin
a king Of the turf,
Concerning tho t~horoughbred and hi
value AZ a military horse. beliey,
that in either peace or wa IN