| Show FATHERS OF TilE TBI1 Horses That Have Won Great Events in England RICHEST STAKES IN THE WORLD I Diomed from Whom the American RaceHorse Race-Horse is Descended Prospects for the Present Season Nlw YORK May 13 lS91Special correspondence cor-respondence of THE HEUALD fWithin avery a-very few days we will have in the papers of the United States long and brilliant accounts ac-counts of the contest of the half million people of nil ages and conditions who will go to Epsom Downs on the 27th of May to Bee the most popular horse race in the world Almost as many people go to see the wonderful assemblage as go to enjoy the contest of speed and endurance which takes place here every year between the fiuest thoroughbreds under the sun The date of the meeting shifts considerably In fact it rarely ever falls on the same day I remember that old Hermit won it in 1807 in a snowstorm while it is frequently run inI I June This was one of the most sensational finishes that ever occurred on the turf Hermit was not considered in tho race until the last few strides when he came in with a rush and beat Orlando out by a neck The Marquis of Hastings is said to have lost SCOOOOO on the defeat of his entry en-try The crowd was wild with excitement at the performance and it is still the talk of England in racing circles The old horse is still alive and looks as slick at thirty years of age as ho did at fifteen For several sev-eral years after he retired to the stud ho headed the list of winning sires and wherever wher-ever a good race horse is found in the United Kingdom you are apt to find more I or less of old Hermits blood He still belongs J be-longs to Mr Chaplain the minister of agriculture agri-culture who gives the very best of care to the old veteran in his declining days I t MCUMIT It is one hundred and eleven years this month since the first derby was run I wonder how many people in our country even those who feel an interest in racing either for pleasure or for money know what this popular event in England means or has meant to the sporting intersts of the United States The Brooklyn handicap was the first of the big prizes of this year i in New York and was worth to the first Y horse under the wire 20000 The Suburban Sub-urban follows it on June 15 and should be of greater value The Futurity stakes for i twoyearolds is run later so is the Metropolitan Metro-politan Handicap at Morris park Both I p carry a heap of money Seven suburbans five Brooklyns three Futurity and one Metropolitan Met-ropolitan have passed into history As I I things go with us they have all been rich stakes of as much value even as similar events carried on the other side of the water when iiretrfounded We of course have had to learn the practical and systematic turf conditions which we have established so perfectly and so soon from the mother country Fifty years from now the suburban 1 subur-ban and our other big handicaps will be as I well known as the Derby and of equal value and interest We are a pushing combative and gaming people The majority bet with us while English limitations turn over to the winner There are several great racing events in England each year and money beyond anything S any-thing we know of in the new world of sport is put up on them alL While the Derby is the best known and richest stake it is by no means the most important movement among race horses Frequently live hundred hun-dred thousand people have assembled to witness it and the money consideration to I the winner outside of all betting has reached as high as the net sum of 250000 tC Several times it has gone to 200000 and it is fair to say that it is usually the richest stake in the world Of course the amount varies each year according to the number of entries forfeits starters etc just as it does in our land Tie crowd which assembles as-sembles to witness it and the sentiment which attaches to it endow it with popularity popular-ity which belongs to no other gathering of the turf There are far more in teres tins meetings during the season think than on Epsom Downs but in some senses they are for the few while the Derby is for tho many The St Leger run at Doncaster is the oldest of all the great stakes and a most interesting affair It was founded in 1776 almost at the moment when the colonies which are now tho United States framed their declaration of independence and started into war Three years later in 1779 the Oaks was first run at Ascot and has been there yearly since The one thousand guineas and the two thousand guineas at Kewmarket were not established until 1S09 and 1810 r The Derby was first run in 1780 one year later than the Oaks and four years later than the St Leger For some reason it became be-came the popular event from the start and has continued so ever since It Is only eighteen miles from London to Epsom Downs while it is four times that distance to almost any other prominent race track in England with the single exception of Ascot Heath and Sandown Its close proximity prox-imity to London the cheap fares and the easy access has very much to do with bringing bring-ing four or five hundred thousand people to Epsom every year to enjoy a days outing and see the winner of tho Derby New market Doncaster Goodwood and the other big places are sixty miles away and it costs twenty dollars to enjoy a days outing out-ing at any one of these places that is if you want a chance to see the race comfortably comfort-ably The thousands go free to all these courses but the hundreds pay the big price a Railroad fare the drive across the country of five miles and the two dollars and a half entrance fee make the sport expensive to those who are able to pay and cheap to the common herd who are willing to travel cheap r DIOIED This much ot history and statement only introduces the broader elements of this subject The Brooklyn suburban and Metropolitan handicap are but infants yet in the racing world and tho futurity stakes carrying last year over 75000 to Potomac are just starting as Counterparts of tbe great stakes of which I have spoken When they have been run a few years they will be as rich as the Derby if not richer The tendency of the times both in this country and in England is to make up a big pot of money for certain races Perhaps the minor events may suffer from this penchant pen-chant but these attractive purses tend to ir isspire jnen to great care and expenditure the development of hurso flesh That is what they are given for One of the leading lead-ing turfmen of England said to me the other day but for such stakes as the St Leger the Derby tho Oak tho Goodwood cup etc their thoroughbreds would lack the speed and endurance which these events make necessary All this review recalls some interesting factsWhen When I look back on what has transpired during the century in the history of the Derby I wonder how many Americans know how much it has impressed itself upon up-on sports of the same character in the United States Every turf man knows the story American Eclipse Boston Lexington Lexing-ton Sir Archy and others that have made our best turf history But I wonder how many know that the first winner of the Derby founded the race of American thoroughbreds I thor-oughbreds after he was twentytwo years old All the great animals I have named carried his blood in their veins and in fact I wherever it is found there is a rood race n 0 horse Diomed captured the first Derby in 1780 and three years later was retired from the track and went into the stud He was avery a-very successul sire and in 1789 when twentytwo years old was sold for 250 Ho was brought to this country in a nailing vessel and sired the Godolphin Arabian who got more great race horses of endurance endur-ance than any animal that has ever lived Diomed died in Virginia in 1808 when he was thirtyone years of age and produced colts almost up to the time of his death This magnificent chestnut stallion lelt behind be-hind him a history of achievements both on the turf and in the stud that has never been equalled by another horse since tho breeding breed-ing of thoroughbreds has been known Sir Archy sprang from his loins in 1S03 when Diomed was twentyeight years of age and Sir Archy transmitted all the best powers of his sire to nearly all thegreat race horses whose history is a romance of speed and endurance like Boston Eclipse Lexington Lexing-ton etc In those days endurance was the great consideration and how well Diomed and the thoroughbreds who carried his blood is seen in Boston who won thirty four mile heat races and nine three mile Lexington Eclipse and others demonstrated his wonderful powers not only on the turf but in the stud The Godolphin Arabian of America was tne pet name given to Sir Archy because his got was almost certain to be successful on the turf Racing is changed wonderfully since those days Now long distances are rarely I ever run and the Derby itself is only a mile and a half dash Breeding for speed instead in-stead of great endurance has improved the breed of English race horses as well as American It has also introduced into the strains of blood elements of good temper etc that have been of value Our great racers of fifteen years ago however imparted im-parted that strain of endurance to our fleet footed horses that enable them to go a rate I of speed that was entirely unknown either in England or America when they run two three and four mile heats The class of stallions that have taken the places of the great heroes of the past do not suffer by comparison England is full of animals that are improving the breed of horses every day Fabulous prices are being paid for thoroughbred stallionsbearing the blood of a successful ancestry and the price seems to increase every year s C l f5iu ata g c 1 1ii3fr L rr THE DUKE OF PORTLAND IN nLIT Any cosTUME COS-TUME Ormonde is sensational feature of the past two years and when the Duke of Westminister sold him to a South American Ameri-can syndicate for 40000 English turfmen bought him back that so valuable an animal ani-mal might not be lost to their breeding interests in-terests St Simon belonging to the Duke of Portland is another great animal so is Barcoldine the property of Lady Stamford St Gatian who ran the dead heat with Harvester and the second one ever run in the history of the Derby belongs to Mr Chaplin who owns old Hermit All these animals play greater 01 less part in the necessities of our turf and like old Diomed impress their powers and individuality upon most of our thoroughbreds This year promises to be one of the most eventful in the history of the English turf The entries for all the big stakes are very large and of fine material As usual for the past five years the Duke of Portland seems best equipped in good horses to win a great deal of money His Phenomenal success has made people lookupon him as the luckiest lucki-est man on the turf This may be true but besides luck he has owned the finest of stock and handled it to perfection Year before last he won in stakes and purses nearly 400000 Last year over 100000 and almost over since ho has been on tbe I turf he has headed the list of winning owners These may seem large figures to American owners but our folks will get to them in time FKAKK A BURR |
