Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-01

veloped Sun Edwin, Sun Beau and REG
Count. The former was sold for 5000 Id
fore left Mr.. Kilmer for the second time
My first start with my present employ
wasn't very promising one. Mr. Cochra
at the time had one of the incest colts "
ever seen in Sledgehammer which had Starte
three times, winning his first two races
being very badly injured in his third.
was taken to the colt before 1t wa
finally decided that it would be impossible
to save his life. Naturally I was greatly dis
appointed at having to lose the colt one
good that rare judge like Sam Hildret1
had offered Mr.. Cochran $4,000 for him
I suppose Mr.. Cochran must have read m
face, for he put his hand on my shoulde
apd said consolingly: Never mind, Henry
it can't be helped. Maybe wen have on
just as good next year. The action wa
typical of the man and sportsman that he is
That was in 1927, and all / can say o.
Mr.. Cochran would be to repeat what Nv
said of Comdr Ross. They are the type O
sportsmen that the turf always needs. Il
can't have too many like them.
After looking at races for more than 4C
years and seeing many close finish, it was
left until last year for to witness tho
most exciting race, the one out of which j
got the biggest thrill since I started in the
game. That was in the Pimlico Futurity
when colt Flying Heels, just nosed out
William zieglers Spinach. What race that
was What contest as the two colts locked
up in a struggle to the death down the stretch
to the wire!
The stretch Is not long one at PimIico
That day it looked to me like mile. The colts
seemed to take an hour to run down 1t as first
one and then the other appeared to have his
head in front. furlong from home our fellow
appeared beaten, but he answered his riders
repeated calls - and my fervent prayers as
only the gamest of the game can.
One final desperate effort, one longer stride
just at the post, and he caught the judges eye
by nod. Whew! What heartbreaker! What
q relief to see the numbers go up!
I OOKING down long vista of years can
say that racing has improved out of sight in
the class Of owners and the conduct of the sport.
Today We have more sportsmen and sports
women as owners and fewer sporting men"
than we had IN the days when first started
out
The conduct of racing is in better hands
than 1t used to be- The promoters who
label themselves as associations for the i'm
provement of the thoroughbredS," but whose
main object Is to earn big dividends by the
profits derived from mutuel machine betting
still exist in America and Canada but are grad
ually being eliminated.
national racing commission, with full pow
eFs of regulation over all courses, would be an
ideal body for the proper development of rae
ing in America if 1t were possible to obtain
such thing and such a commission could
only be removed from politics.
The amount of money that can be won by b
good two-year-old in America today has never
been equaled approached in the world.
Whichone won $4,000 for Harry Payne Whit
ney last year and wasn't sent after the big
stakes in the Fall in Maryland and Kentucky.
And the lead that Harry Sinclar's Zev holds
as the biggest money winner on the American
turf is likely to be surpassed at any time.
great many of our courses could be much
improved They have not kept pace with the
times and in many instances are not properly
for no 6oIIc hat a. fIo
nowadays. No racing strip that hasn't five
furlong straight course for two-year-olds and
chute from which to start races up to a mile
and sixteenth is entitled to be called race
course. Many of these out-of-date tracks were
built years ago, when a field of eight or ten
horses was considered big one
The character of our races has altered. We
are living in age of speed, when every one
is in hurry. Races over any distance beyond
mile and quarter bring out very small fields,
while Sx-furlong sprintS cvercrowded.
With all the care and attention bestowed on
breeding don't think individual horses today
are any faster better than you could have
found many years ago, but we have more OF
them now. I've already spoken of the fastest
colt ever trained-and that was SO years ago.
You'll find many who saw them both race who
will tell you that Hindoo was just fast and
could stay far Man o. War. It's 10 years
since Man o. War raced, and we haven't seen
his equal since then.
recently listened to an argument as to
which was the better horse, the present-day
champion, Diavolo, or Exterminator 1 might
reasonably be suspected Of being prejudiced in
favor of the latter, but think giving n
fair opinion when say that ExterminatOr was
the better al-around horse. Short or long dis
lance, wet or dry track, fast pace in the race or
slow, it was all the same to him.
If our horses are no better than they were 80
years ago, our jockeys certainly aren't. We have
half a dozen, perhaps few more who good
and rif 6nicI Init
haven't half that many who good judges of
pace and who can make an cratic horse do hie