The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1921-04-29
History's Great Men
Were Warm Friends
of the Thoroughbred


The snnaal spsing season q
thoroughbred rarihg will 5000 be Al its
height in Kentucky and there Is every
ndic1tioa that interest 10 the fsHf0Sss
old sport this year, viii snrpass any
st the days that asye gose before.
Chief among the perennial attrae-
tons OF thoroughbred racing Is liz
genuine democracy. The thorough
bred has his charms for us NIL today
just as he did In the days of George
Washington and Andrew Jackson
Roth these presidents OF the United
States ~ere great lovers Of the
thoroughbred and loyal supporters of
the sport Of horse racing, They bred
and raced their own horses. and his
tory records the fact that The former
acted rs judge Al the Newmarket
Course. Charleston, \. e., on one oe-
CASTOR. Washington. rs we ali know;
was 4 acted horseman, who eajoyed
his spirited thoroughbred for riding
and hunting through the held until
very late 10 life. aud his stable had q
reputation for the number and quality
Of the horses Il contained
Andrew Jackson was an enthusiastic
patron ~ horse racing long before he
became president lie maintained .
formidable stable. which included
Truxton, . horse " which he was ek
ceodingiy proud. and vita WHICH be
wea the famous match rHcs for $1,000
against Greyhound Asser his snan-
gurstisa ~ president. no brought his
horses to the Capitol, and In lisa
trained them 10 person. Vice Preaident
And Mrs. Van Buren, Often being prOs-
ent to wttnrss the morning workout
VI the horses personally. superinteodsd
b. the presddent, with characteristic
lmpetuosdty and pIsn speech, for "O,d
Hiekory,' rs history records. had
temper Of his own"
The Wash ngton Course. located
aboat two miles lrUm the Capital, was
Laih In iS0e. The Jockey Club, under
whose auspices Il was operated, num-
bered among ils members tho nnoAt die
tinctive men Of Affairs u the day.
facing was regularly attended By the
peesidents from Jefferson 10 Van
Buren,. On ons OCCASION John Quincy
Adams walked 70 and from the course,
surrounded BY the eGuipages OF me
wealthy.
"t;enerals Washington and jack
Dn." WRITES one leading eoDmentator.
IRE examples VI the fondneas that
grrat sGatesmen and military u'en have
50 generally entertained for the horse
and sport Of the turf. Though equal
ly bold and aggressive riders 10 the
field, General Jackson was The more
snccessful On the course. The racing
annals " the west record his nuInex
ous victories and according 10 The
anecdotes which are told VI him. b
sometimes intimidated his advcksaries
Of the boldness VI defiance, vheFe be
might not have won BY the speed or
bottom Of his horse.
One OF General Jackson's closest
friends was the Rev. II. N. Cryer. .
minister OF the Methodist EpiropaI
Church, who was q breeder Of
thoroughbred horses and who raced
one Of them In the name Of his part
ner, Col. Geo. Elllott. The reverend
gentleman, having been charged with
horse racing. was summoned before
the tribunal and asked II he had any
thing TO say In his defense nothing.
was his reply, except that would
like to have you let me know now
can arrnnge It FOE my half Of the morse
" stand In the stable while Col. III
LOFTS half liz racing. The horse DO
longs TO us Jointly. lie has the same
right To control him that have; and
he will race him aud cannot keep him
from IT."
Needless to add. Mr.. Cryer was duly
acquitted.
The utter abeenee OF prejudice
against Tie turf 10 earlier days brings
into sharp contrast our sporadic lat
ter-day agitations 10 disapprovai.
For example, II 10 mentioned n the
Catholic Ciurchmau, published at An
napolis in iT4f; that among the legiti-
mate pastiines Of the population which
met with the approval Of the church
itself, was the now one Of racing
horses. which had grown TO he highly
popular among the gentry Of the coan-
try. However, we Of today, have every
reason TO believe that the turf ls on
the eve Of a greater measure Of popu-
lar support tisan II has received in \
deeade--not only as . matter Of health
fui out-of-door entertainment bur also
because OF It's Importance as an adj
junct 70 the Industry OF breeding
thoroughbred horses for use In sup
Il,yipr the army with cavalry mounts
AUD o.l,cr L.slis atil tarIan purposes.