The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1925-09-14

them to feature their programs.
they have been scattered all over,
no track getting enough for ita
purposes. The result ID such that
to I'LL their cards. the tracks have
been compelled to cater TO the
cheap platers among whom form is
a rare quantity.
The game also has suffered se-
verely by the unspOFtell1anlllkO 81
tiEude Of some owners and train
ers Of stables housing good horses.
With not 50 many golden oppor-
tunities at hand they have been
persistently lodging one another
all season, preferring to pass Up
one purse In the knowledge that
they would soon locate a softer
spot where. they could not only
pick up a rich purse, but win q
bet at the same time. This haa
been largely responsible for the
small fields that have been found
competing for the majority Of Inn
poFtant stakes all season.
In the last analysis, however
the chief reason for the disT1al
form that has marked thorough
to be found in the horses them
selves. A .sorrier lot has not been
seen in years The really good
horses above three years can be
enumerated on the fingers Of your
hands. while worss crop Of
three-year-olds would be difficult
to imagine. Outside OF American
flag and, he has been retired for
the balance of the year, there
IN not one with even the preten-
sion of being a great horse and
they have been beating one another
regularly.
The two-year-olds are etiIl an ur-
known quantity. Pompey, winner
OF the Hopeful at Saratoga. and
the Belmont Futurity, il the out
standing colt Of this division, but
whether his IL just the best Of q
bad bunch remains to be seen. The
others have been trimming one an
other as frequently az the three
year.olds, but their rating as a
class, whether they are an excep
ticnally good bunch or just another
cheap crop. can only be determined
when they encounter older oppo1i-
ton next season.
The autumn racing seasons Ia
Maryland and Kentucky should
sec an Improvement In the sport
with the many summer tracks
closed and only the New York
cotirses running I'm opposition, there
Will be concentration Of thor
oughbreds ct these two points.
This Will mean larger and better
fields, and form should improve &C
cordinEly. However, the observe
ton or form win not be left en-
tirely with the horses themselves IN
Maryland, and those not showing
reasonable consistency will receive
short shrift from the governing Of
ftciale.
Racing in Maryland has always
enjoyed a clean bill Of health, and
the State Racing Commission and
the stewards at the yarioiIs tracks,
are determined that 1t shall not be
contaminated. whenever the ugly
head OF scandal has been lifted in
their midst they have been luick
to act, to protect. the sport. Last
fall it was Jim Healy, trainer of
the A. C.. Boswick Stable, who i'm
ourred their displeasure by the
erratic conduct OF Shuttle Along.
faSdly was WaKhoQ that IN InS III
ture Shuttle Along must show
greater constituency I'm his per-
formances or he could take his
horses elsewhere. This spring they
encountered similar proposition IN
the fragrant reversal of Vexation at
Bowie, which was punished by the
ruling off Vexation and his owner
and all the horses in the same
stable.
Shuttle Along, as well as some
others in Healy's charge have been
cutting more figure Fights on New
York tracks this summer, their
antics provoking bitter comment In
racing circles and the turf press.
The officials there have watched
them with a tolerant eye. but Healy
will not encounter the same lenient
attitude If he campaigns again In
Maryland this fall The warning
passed out to him at Laurel a year
ego still sticks, and included IN 1t
Maryland officials would like t.
have it known are others who have
trick horses in their barns.