Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1919-12-18
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PROVE STRONGER
GREAT WAR TAUGHT IMPORT.
ANcE OF BREEDING OF.
HORSES.
RACING ENCOURAGED ABROAD

Nations Who Bore Brunt II confiict
!; Maintained the Sport as Much a,
is Possible. as Matter Of Sound Polio,
4 In its Relation to National Defense
4 At no time in the course Of, the last
five wears, not even while the great
war, was ut lts height, did the Cen
trail Empires stop the racing of thor
Oughbred horses. The great tracks al
Hamburg, Buda Pest, Vienna and Ber,
lin were the scenes Of brilliant gather.
ings, even when the Grand Duke Nicll-
Olns was threatening East Prussia
with invasion and Brusilef was on, tile
edge of the plains of Hungary with his
Wild COssack riders. At no time dur
Ing the course of the great war werc
American and English trainers ana
Jockeys. who had been caught by the
declaration Of war In Germany and
Austria- Hungary and were unable to
obtain passports, intemed. They were
permitted by governments their gov
ernments' were seeking to destroy to
pursue their accustomed callings un.
mOlested and unrestrained.
To certain extent racing was cur
tailed In Great Britain during the first
two years of the great war. The use
Of the famous Epson Downs course
rs resting place for convalescing sol.
dicrs necessitated the running Of the
famous British Derby at Newmarket
IN 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917 and 1918. The
preOccupation Of tho spoitsmen of
Great Britain In the business Of war
caused them. to certain extent, to
neglect the thoroughbred sales of 1919,
1916 and 1917, and Americans were
enabled to slip in and buy up lot OF
frst.clGss stations and mares with
which to enrich the American thor
Oughbred industry.
France Alone Stops Racing.
OF the great nations participating in
the great war, France alone felt the
necessity Of stopping horse racing.
Threatened with utter destruction in Il
food OF Teutonic barbnrIsm, France
had to send to the fighting lines on the
Marne, the Solnme, the Alsne about
Vertun, in The VOsgcs, every male
Frenchman capable OF bearing arms.
Back Of the fighting lines she had to
mobilize the elderly men with the
women and children for the imperative
work. of making munitions. Upon
France alone fell the burden of resist
Ing the German TIDE for upward Of two
years. Throughout the course Of the
war speed tests were held at the great
French tracks, but not as public spec
tacles. But there was no letting down
Of the bars as regards the expectation
from France Of thoroughbred blood
any time during the war. As a special
consideration citizens Of the United |
States, country from which the
French, from The very beginning of the
war, were drawing enormous qunnti-
ties Of military material, who had thor
oughbred studs in France, such men as
John Sanford, Of Amsterdam, Major
August Belmont, Joseph L. Widener
and Thomas p. ThOrne, were permit
ted, when transportation was availn.
bile. to ship to the United States lin
ted number Of thoroughbred yearlings.
No matured thoroughbred stations or
males were allowed to leave the cOun-
Try, whether their owners were French
men or Outlanders.
With the signing Of the armistIce
France and England resumed racing
With characteristic enthusiasm. The
at the race tracks about
Paris has been ,grenter this season
han In, any for the period <of half a
lozen years preceding the outbreak of
he great war. The crowds that wilt.
lesseti the running of the Derby, the
oaks, the Ascot Gold Cup, the Leger,
.tc., In Great Britain, were greater by
he thousands than the greatest Of
race track gatherings.
Sport Encouraged In Europe.
In France and Great Britain the pat
onage of horse racing, by the public,
as the highest government encourage
nent now 6s the support Of racing had
n Germany and Austria.lIungary even
through the dark months when human
cings were finding 1t difficult to OBJ.
min nourishing food. France and Eng
md recognize todny as Germany aud
.ustria-H Hungary have for many days
he indispensibility Of thoroughbred
loOd to national defense and neces-
Ity Of Thoroughbred horse racing for
he maintenance ut Its highest eftlcien.
Y OF Thoroughbred blood.
For upward Of seventy years previ-
us to the beginning Of the great war
re military governments Of continent
Europe had been maintaining thor. n
lghbred studs for. the production of
,i1it0 rv horans an on rlipr contiirv ne