Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 95, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 April 1919 — Remarkable and Legitimate Revival of Thoroughbred Racing Due [ARTICLE]

Remarkable and Legitimate Revival of Thoroughbred Racing Due

By "JACK" JOYNER.

Veteran Horie Trainer

The general public is once more keenly interested in racing, and, now that: the war is over and the people of the country as a whole have begun to realize the great value of racing as the testing ground for the improvement of our future, cavalry and artillery service, I look for a remarkable and thoroughly legitimate revival of the sport —provided, however, that certain matters of serious importance to its welfare receive due consideration, and that the necessary action follows: First of all there' should be some restrictive regulation of our now excessive two-year-old racing. In England, through the fact that purses and stakes are restricted in value until July 1, high-class youngsters are not started before that date. Moreover, owners and trainers do not, as a rule, start their high-class two-year-olds more than three or four times during their first year on the turf, reserving them for the three-year-old "classics” and later valuable events. In France no two-year-old is allowed to start in any event until August 1. As a natural result in these countries a much larger number of speedy, well-proportioned and developed two-year-olds, with their vitality unimpaired, are seen at the close of the season each year. Legislation by the Jockey club or a spirit of co-operation upon the part of the associations is essential. A Series of' events —stakes as well as handicaps —should be inaugurated. The money so largely given to two-year-old events should be added to these distance events. This would make them of sufficient value to make it worth While for owners and trainers to point their best horses for these contests. In my opinion, contrary to that of several other students of racing, the average American thoroughbred of today has deteriorated from his predecessor of ten to thirty years ago. Certainly as a stayer, and I am not convinced that even the sprinter of fifteen years ago was not a better all-round horse, making due allowance, of course, for the faster records shown owing to the speedier tracks of today. That there has not been the improvement "justifiably expected with our recent importations of high-class foreign sires is due to excessive two-year-old racing and the almost total elimination of distance racing.