The Washington herald., 1915-07-11
RAGING REVIVAL
RESCUES HORSES
Recent Booming Of Sport Of
Kings Was Life-saver for
Thoroughbreds.
WAR HAS DRAWN 600, 900
Trouble in Europe Given as Reason
for Awakening of Prominent
Turfmen.
WAR HAS DRAWN 600, 900

New York, July 10. The horse is tc
| be saved by the revival of racing, and
| saved Just at a time when it began to
look as if the horse would be wiped oul
of existence.
When the racing game got body blow
in many States a number of wears ago
many of the greatest breeding stables in
the country ceased operations. The death
rate among horses of the thoroughbred
kind soon becam me almost double that OF
the birth rate. And then came the Eu-
ropean war demanding-and getting-our
horses which removed from this coun-
try nearly 10000 horses in n few months
time.
During the first few months OF the
European war we sent TO Europe about
$50. 900, 0JD worth of horses" said +. X.
Sturgis. vice chairman of the Jockey
Club, OF New York. Practically every
horse We sent over was for cavalry use.
and that meant that the horses were
of the thorough Inbred standard. The av-
eraGe life of horses on a battlefield is
only ten DAYS so ii will be seen from
this that if the breeding of horses hadn't
been resumed in this country just at
the time that il was the racing horse
would almost have been extinct before
the European war is over. No accurate
report OF the number of horses killed in
the war has been received. but ii is safe
to say that the number Will run well into
the millions.
Proba blv il was the European war and
its consequent wastage of horses that
awakened the horse lovers to the horse
less peril that confronted them. But the
revival of the racing game has done much
TO influence breeders to resume opera
tions again, and in every State most OF
the old breeding farms have resumed
again and some new ones have come to
life.
In New York State such fine sportsmen
as John Madden, Harry Payne Whitney,
August Belmont, Capt. Cassett. r. I.
Wilson James Butler, and Alexander
Cochran have done everything in their
power to help the breeding and the rae
ing game. They have donated large
sums to make racing possible in New
York State. and because racing has been
made possible there the breeders have
become encouraged and have entered the
breeding business with Zest.
Several breeding farms recently started
in New York State are competing for
prizes in the breeding line. Enthusiast
tic horse lovers throughout the State
have donated prizes that are TO be
awarded annually to the breeders VINO
have the most fcals.
But the breeding industry has become
nation wide and it is expected that one
of the results will be the foaling of some
of the greatest ra ce horses that ever paw
ed the turf within the next few years
Sturgis. in pointing out the scarcity
of thoroughbreds because of the drains
caused on our horse resources by the
European war. said:
Many persons use the argument that
because the last census showed that We
had 100000 head of horses it is folly
to talk of shortage of this class Of ami
NAL, but it should always be borne in
mind that a very great majority of this
y. 0o0. 600 is made up of draught animals.
and i venture the opinion that 1900 cav
airy remounts of the proper type could
not be secured in the State OF New York,
IL a man took thirty days in which to
the work"