Horse Racing

First, we can divide horse racing into two broad general types. One is flat racing, where the horses run over a level course. Races of two furlongs (quarter-mile) to seven furlongs are called sprints; races of a mile to two and a half miles are termed routes or distance events. The second type is steeplechasing, where the horses are required to run over a course studded with bush, bar, and water obstacles which they must hurdle. Steeplechase distances are from two to four miles. If the jumps are only over low wooden hurdles, the event is called a hurdle race.

In flat racing, there are races of a non-claiming variety (stakes, handicaps, and allowances), and claiming events. The difference between claiming and non-claiming races is that the owner takes a chance of losing his horse every time he runs him in a claiming race. Having entered his horse in a race for, let us say, $3000 claiming price, the owner must sell his horse to any other horseman who deposits $3000 and a claim for that horse with the racing secretary before the race. The sale is then completed regardless of the outcome of the race.

Suppose Al Wellman enters his Count Fearless in a $3000 claiming race. There may be other horsemen who would like to have Count Fearless in their stable. One or more of them may put in a claim for Count Fearless. In the event there is only one claim, the claimant gets Count Fearless, and Al Wellman gets the $3000; plus, of course, any amount the horse might have won in the race. If there are several claimants, they toss dice to decide who will get the horse.

Closed claiming means that the right to claim another man’s horse is limited to those owners who have starters in the same race. Open claiming means that any horseman may place a claim on some one’s horse if he has started a horse in a race at the same track meeting. Kentucky sponsored closed claiming races, and tracks in that state continue to operate under such rules.

Some kind of a record was set at Hollywood Park, Inglewood, Cal., early in December, 1944, when thirty-two claims were filed for the plater Mythologist, who finished fourth in his race. The claiming price was $2000.

Another record was established at Bay Meadows, San Mateo, Cal., on December 14, 1940, when six horses were claimed out of the twelve entries in the third race. According to Ed Steward, commission steward, this record has never been equalled. Mrs. J. Grugler lost two horses when four of nine starters in the sixth at Fair Grounds were claimed on Dec. 23, 1942.

A racing stable owner paid $1640 for a dead horse at the Bay Meadows track on March 28, 1944. J. K. Houssels, of Las Vegas, Nev., was one of the three men who put claims in for Sir Winsome before the race. Sir Winsome ran a beautiful race, finished second, and crashed through the rail. He collapsed and died. Frankie Chojnacki, the jockey, hopped off when the horse headed for the rail and was unhurt. The three men tossed dice to decide who would get Sir Winsome, and Houssels was the high man to claim the horse for $1640.

In addition to the $1640, Houssels had to pay for hauling the remains off the track.

Another hard-luck claim was registered at Bowie, Md., in 1935 when five claims were put in for Wedge Lad for $1500. When Wedge Lad came onto the track for his race, he got out of control and crashed into the fence, breaking his neck. Later, the five claimers tossed dice for the dead animal. L. “Sport” Haymaker won the toss and had to pay for the carcass. All Haymaker had to say was, “You lose when you win. That’s a hell of a note.”

It is easy to understand why horsemen rarely enter their horses in claiming races of less price than the actual value of their horses. Occasionally an owner will be shooting for the $1000 win purse in a race, and will take a chance on putting a $3000 horse in a $2500 claiming race. When he does this, he is really asking someone to take his horse at a bargain price.

Claiming races are programmed for horses of all ages, from two-year-olds upward. They are run at all prices, from the lowly $400 claimer to the $20,000 topper. This range gives an owner a chance to keep dropping his horse into cheaper races until the animal reaches the point where he is running against his own kind. This practice is termed “dropping down.” Further, if a horse is improving in form, the owner may step him up into claiming races of higher value, which is called “moving up.” A horse cannot be entered in two claiming races on the same racing program.

Claiming races tend to bring together horses of approximately the same value since each owner actually puts his horse up for sale. In 1943, 71 percent of the races run in the United States were claimers. In 1944, graded handicaps were substituted for many claimers, and the claiming percentage dropped to 52 percent.

The purses divided among the owners of the horses finishing first, second, third, and fourth, in claiming races are relatively small. They run from a few hundred dollars at the smaller tracks to three thousand dollars at the larger tracks.

Before the claiming rules were instituted about 25 years ago, many selling races were run. These were similar to the present-day claiming events in that the winner of a race was put up at auction and sold to the highest bidder. The owner had the privilege of raising a bid by five dollars while competitors were forced to bid in units of not less than $50, depending on the racing association. Any beaten horse could be claimed for the entered price.

Non-claiming races are of three kinds — stakes, handicaps, and allowance events — in which owners take no chance of losing their horses via the claiming route. Some special races are occasionally included on a racing program: maiden races (non-claiming) for horses which have never won; combination races, in which horses may be entered for claim or not; and match races.

1. HANDICAP RACES. The track handicapper assigns the weights to be carried by the various entrants. The heaviest weight is given to the horse he considers best at the distance, the lightest weight to the poorest horse. The handicapper attempts to make the race theoretically a dead-heat between all contestants…. The late W. S. Vosburgh, well-known handicapper of another age, once put 162 pounds on a flat racer running one mile at Brookline. The horse was Ferrier, a $50,000 racer. Present-day weights run from 95 pounds to 136 pounds. The weight carried by a horse includes the weight of the jockey. If a horse is assigned 120 pounds and the boy weighs 110 pounds, then 10 pounds of dead weight (lead bars) are placed in the saddle slots. Most owners prefer “live weight” on their horses rather than “dead weight.” The heavier jockeys ride the better handicap horses.

No horse is permitted to carry over five pounds more weight than has been assigned him. It is a common belief that 10 pounds “dead weight” are equivalent to 15 pounds “live weight” since “dead weight” in the form of lead strips is placed in saddle slots while “live weight” in the form of the jockey is not stationary and can be moved advantageously during the race.

Handicap purses run from $1000 at small tracks to $100,000 at large tracks. Graded handicaps (B, C, D, and E) are for horses of inferior quality and for smaller purses, and are now being used in place of many claiming races. It has become the practice to move horses into Grade D after they have won twice in Grade E, and then advance them to C after two victories in D races. Many people oppose graded handicaps because they do not believe any one man can grade 1000 horses accurately.

2. ALLOWANCE RACES. The conditions specify a base weight for horses which are eligible, with a reduction of a definite number of pounds for inferior prior performance in terms of amounts or races won, or the addition of weight for previous superior performance. Horses of any age may compete unless the conditions state otherwise. The purses have approximately the range $1000 to $5000. Races designated as Allowance Stakes carry larger purses.

3. STAKE RACES. All entrants carry the same weight, except for sex allowance and small penalties in weight incurred by a horse which has won prior stakes of given value. Mares are conceded from three to ten pounds as sex allowance. Stake races, in the strict sense, are only for horses two years old or three years old. Purses run from the lowly $5,000 to $75,000. Ninety percent of the stake horses are insured at a rate of 6 percent of he price for which the insurance is written. Stake races constitute about 1½ percent of all the races run.

Cup races, richly endowed in money or prestige to attract entrants of the highest class, are run over extended distances varying from a mile and a quarter to two miles.

Whenever a horse consistently runs poorly in allowances, handicaps, and stakes, he will probably be dropped into claiming races, unless his owner is very wealthy and can afford to forget the possible winnings.

There is no entry fee charged in ordinary overnight races for thoroughbreds. The entrance fee for handicaps and stakes varies according to the value or importance of the race.

There has been considerable discussion of late concerning the setting up of top-and-bottom weights in handicap events. This means that the lowest weight to be carried by any horse and the highest weight to be carried by another horse in the event should be set beforehand.

The argument for such limits is that many good horses are given extremely high weights in handicap races because of their fine records. A good horse may be required to carry anywhere from 124 to 136 pounds, while a second-rate horse may be allowed to run in the same event at somewhere around 100 pounds.

While this gives the second-rater a chance to beat the better horses, it is really seriously handicapping a true champion. The good horse must show himself to be a super-horse by overcoming a weight of twenty to thirty pounds awarded to the second-raters.

The weight advantage has given many horse-players the idea that they should back the horse carrying the lightest weight. This is a fairly good policy since such horses have little public following or backing, and for that reason pay big prices when they finish in the money.

However, the records of such horses are so spotty that it is difficult to select a play when there are two or three horses in the race carrying the same weight in the neighborhood of 100 pounds.

Fewer of the so-called graded handicaps where horses carry weights differing by as much as 30 pounds would result in more formful racing, with the good horses turning in good performances. The good horses would not be so sadly outclassed when carrying unusually large weights.

One of the greatest weight carriers of all time on the American turf was old Exterminator, who died on Sept. 26, 1945, at Sun Briar Court in Binghamton, N. Y., at the age of thirty. In his peak year, as a seven-year-old, running in 17 races, he carried 130 pounds or more on fourteen occasions. In the Brooklyn Handicap at Aqueduct, he carried 135 pounds and won by a head; in the Kentucky Handicap at Churchill Downs he lugged 138 pounds to a half-length victory; in the Independence Handicap at old Latonia he reached the climax when the official handicapper rated him at 140 pounds.

That load over a mile and a half was too much for the old idol, and his victory under 138 pounds at Churchill Downs remained his greatest triumph.

Many handicappers figure one length advantage to be equivalent to the following weight additions at various distances; 7 pounds at three-quarter mile; 6 pounds at one mile; 5 pounds at a mile and a sixteenth; 4 pounds at a mile and an eighth. They add such units of weight to victorious racers.

Exterminator was quartered at Binghamton by his owner, Mrs. Willis Sharpe Kilmer. Henry McDaniel bought Exterminator for Mr. Kilmer just a few days before the 1918 Kentucky Derby after Sun Briar, the Kilmers’ star performer, had injured himself in training.

Kilmer wanted to get another horse so he could have an entry in the big event. A group of horsemen, among them Cal Milam, owned a big gelding called Exterminator which had not been too impressive as a two-year-old. They offered the horse for sale, and Kilmer’s trainer, Uncle Henry McDaniel, purchased it for $8,000, which was considered quite a price. The horse was tall and awkward in appearance, and was often called “The Animated Hatrack.”

Exterminator sloshed behind the field in the mud for the first mile of the mile and a quarter Derby run. When it looked like Escoba and Viva America would run away from the rest of the field to fight it out for first place, the awkward mud-splattered Exterminator charged down the stretch on the outside to win by two lengths. He won $14,700, almost twice his purchase price.

Exterminator paid $61.20, $23.10, and $12.40 for $2 tickets. Following his three-year-old career, Exterminator proved his worth many times over.

Exterminator, considered one of the greatest geldings in the country, was a perfect gentleman at all times. Cheered by the crowds on post parade, Exterminator always turned his head toward the stands and bowed. Starters say that Exterminator assisted them in handling a bad actor at the post by leaning against the rambunctious one and holding him still until the starter sent the field away. Starter Mars Cassidy always claimed that he was the only horse who acted as if he knew when the finish line had been crossed.

The thirty-year-old champion was on the way toward dying of a broken heart in December, 1944, after Peanuts, a Shetland pony who had been his constant companion for seventeen years, died of old age. The two had always eaten together, played together, slept together. Exterminator refused to eat and seemed dazed after Peanuts had disappeared from their stall. Suspecting that Exterminator would die of grief, Mrs. Kilmer and her caretaker, Peter J. Curren, quickly worked out a method of curing the horse of a broken heart. Peanuts’ body was put in the stall that he and Exterminator had shared for so long. Old man Exterminator got down on his knees and rested his head on Peanuts’ flanks. He remained there for a long time, and when he got up, he ate his hay. Mrs. Kilmer said all that was needed was to convince him that Peanuts really was dead. Later another pony was quartered with him.

When Charles II took the English throne in 1665 and encouraged racing, there were no events for horses less than four years old.

The first known race offered for three-year-olds was run at Bedale, Yorkshire, in 1731, a dash of three miles with nine starters, each carrying 112 pounds. The next year there were only five starters in the event and adverse feeling led to its discontinuance.

In 1756, a three-year-old race was run at Newmarket but was not continued the next year because of criticism of the running of colts. However, five years later the races for three-year-olds were started again, this time to be continued. The St. Leger, at Doncaster, Yorkshire, was the first feature run in 1776 for three-year-olds, and this event is now the world’s oldest annual stake event. The Oaks, for three-year-old fillies, was first run at Epsom in 1779, while the Epsom Derby was started in 1780. Entries for these three races had to be nominated when they were yearlings, a condition which stimulated and emphasized breeding.

Thereupon, attempts were made to stage races for two-year-olds. The first two-year-old race is said to have been run in 1769. About 1773, races for two-year-olds were run over short distances at Newmarket. In 1779 two two-year-olds were raced over a two-17 mile course, and by 1800 the two-year-olds were being run over three miles.

Two-year-old racing had thus been established, for the most part over short distances ranging from four furlongs to a mile. A yearling course of nearly three-eighths of a mile was set up at Newmarket and races for yearlings were started in 1791. Opposition to yearling races grew steadily and they were soon outlawed.

An attempt was made to revive yearling races in 1856 when the Yearling Stakes was run over a quarter-mile at Shrewsbury. Though the event was continued for three more years, The Jockey Club passed a rule in 1859 prohibiting the staging of yearling events and outlawing any horse running in a private yearling match.

In America three-year-olds were raced to a limited extent in Colonial times, prior to 1776. Americans preferred heat racing, the winner to be decided on the winning of two heats out of three or some other such arrangement, and this type of performance called for older mature horses. There were no great annual events established in this country for three-year-olds.

Two-year-old racing was practically unknown in this country before the Civil War.

With the gradual abolition of heat-racing and contests at long distances of three and four miles, more and more races were conducted for younger horses. Americans followed the lead of the British in establishing events for three-year-olds and then later for two-year-olds.

The world’s oldest horse race is the Palio, held annually at Siena, Italy. This event had its origin in 1260 when horse races were conducted in commemoration of the city’s dedication to the Virgin of the Assumption. The early races were run along the town streets, from one end of the city to the other, and were called Palio alla Lunga. Later they were run around the main square of the city, the Piazza del Campo, a fan-shaped area in the center of the city, nestled in a hollow between three hills.

While in Italy, I visited Siena. I walked around the pavement surrounding the Piazza, noticing the huge blocks of stone that were placed there for the roadway more than a thousand years ago. The complete circuit of the Piazza is about a quarter of a mile.

Present-day races, still dedicated to religious celebrations, consist of three turns around the Piazza, a distance of approximately three-quarters of a mile. Several days before the big event, the solid pavement is completely covered with sand to furnish better footing for the horses.

The Palio got its name from the word pallium, meaning a rectangular piece of cloth, used to signify a flag or banner. For each event a Palio was awarded to the winner.

At the present time only two Palios are held each year, although in medieval days there were a number of such races, each dedicated to a different saint. The present-day Palios are; July 2, the feast of Our Lady of Provenzano, which can be traced back continuously to 1659 in the official records of the city and August 16, Our Lady of August, which is believed to have started in 1701.

Entrants are limited to ten horses, one representing each Contrada or ward. Four days before the Palio the horses, selected after some trial races on the Campo, are distributed by lot to the ten Contrada competing in the race.

Then, on the succeeding three days, six trial races are run in the Piazza by the horses ridden by their Fantini (jockeys), one in the morning and one before nightfall, in order to train the horses and jockeys for the big event.

On the feast day high mass is sung in the Duomo (cathedral). At three o’clock a loud beating of drums begins in each Contrada. Knights in armor and pages with flowing locks and costumes of silk and velvet pass through the streets.

The horse of each Contrada, in silk and velvet trappings, is led in a gaily-colored procession to the respective ward chapel where, after short prayers in Latin, he is sprinkled with holy water.

There is more parading around the Piazza and the adjoining streets. The windows and balconies surrounding the Piazza are decked in tapestry and other colorful hangings. There is much singing and frolicking before the race, with standard bearers, drummers, pages, grooms and jockeys giving an exhibition of flag and banner-tossing.

At seven o’clock the race begins. At the sound of a loud drum-beat a thick rope stretched across the roadway as the starting post is dropped, and the ten horses scramble down the sand-covered pavement. There is much pushing and bumping, and jockeys sometimes sacrifice their own chances of winning in order to impede the progress of their opponents.

After three circuits the winner crosses the finish line to the cheers and jeers of the multitude jammed into the Piazza. There is the presentation of the Palio, more parading, and celebrating far into the night.

The King’s Plate, run at Woodbine Park in Canada, is probably the world’s most exclusive race. To be eligible for this race, a horse must be three or four years old, the property of a British subject residing in Ontario; foaled, raised and trained in Ontario; non-winner of a race either on the flat or over hurdles other than a contest for two-year-olds exclusively; have never left Canada; and have never been out of Ontario for more than three months.

Walk-overs, which are races in which only one horse actually competes, are very rare these days. They are possible only in stake races where all but one horse are withdrawn, leaving that horse to walk over the distance of that particular race. There were only five walk-overs from 1933 to 1945.

The 1921 running of the Saratoga Cup was a walkover. Exterminator was the only entrant who started. Again in 1940 the Saratoga Cup was a walk-over when the Belair Stud entry, Isolater and Fenelon, was the only starter. Whirlaway walked over the Pimlico track to take the Pimlico Special on Oct. 28, 1942.

Like the famous “four-minute mile” which has filled the sports pages of this country for years and which such runners as Paavo Nurmi, Glenn Cunningham, Gil Dodd, and Gunder Hägg have chased in vain, there is a famous horse racing mile which might aptly be dubbed the “one-thirty mile.”

Way back in 1871, Alarm, the first noted miler, chalked up a record of one minute forty-two and three-quarter seconds, 1:42%, which held for five years. Then Ten Broeck raced against time to a 1:39% standard.

In 1890, the noted miler, Salvator, pushed to a 1:35% record over a straight course, a standard which withstood the assaults of great racers for twenty-eight years. In 1918 Roamer cut the mile to 1:34%.

Then, on June 30, 1932, Equipoise, often called the Chocolate Soldier because of his chestnut color and great fighting spirit, raced to a new record of 1:34% around a turn over a fast track at Arlington Park, Illinois. This remains the record for the mile around a turn, although an English horse, Mopsus, ran a 1:32 mile over a straight course at Brighton, England, on June 22, 1939.

The best horse in the world on a fast track can run the worst race of his career on a muddy track.

Take the Travers Stakes of 1930 when four horses ran in that classic. Everybody was talking about Gallant Fox and Whichone, while no one paid any attention to the other two entries. Gallant Fox had already won the Wood Memorial, the Preakness, the Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes, the Dwyer Stakes, and the Arlington Classic, so it looked like the Fox would easily be the winning horse.

The rain came down in buckets and by the time the race program started, the track was a sea of mud. In the feature event the bookmakers offered the following odds; Gallant Fox 3-5, Whichone, 8-5, Sun Falcon 12-1, and Jim Dandy 100-1. Very few people remember Sun Falcon, and one sports editor admits that he keeps the name posted in front of his desk so that he can answer the telephone inquiries about the fourth horse’s name.

Jim Dandy just ate up the track that day and rolled home eight full lengths in front of the Fox. He was never a consistent winning horse and soon was retired to stud.

An interesting story is told by a well-known bookmaker, formerly employed at the Detroit track. This chap, whom we might call Bookie Bill, related how he had gotten a tip on Jim Dandy from a clocker who was reliable for tips. Bill made the rounds to place some bets on Jim Dandy. In order not to arouse suspicion, Bookie Bill bet no more than ten dollars “to win” with any one bookmaker. He made eleven bets in all, so when Jim Dandy paid 100 to 1, our bookie friend collected $11,000.

But let Bill tell his own story (even if it’s just for the track language):

“I’m makin’ book at Saratoga. It’s the day of the Travers Stakes and it is unbeaten Gallant Fox against the field. There are three other horses besides the Fox going in the run of a mile and a quarter, but exceptin’ for Whichone it looked like the race should be a walkover for the Fox. It was muddy but everyone thought Gallant Fox could win on class alone.

The prices were 3-5 on the Fox, 8-5 on Whichone, 12-1 on a horse called Sun something-or-other, and 100-1 on a big chestnut fellow named Jim Dandy.

There wasn’t too much action exceptin’ for some bridge jumpers and the chalk players trying to pick up some supper money, and I’m not too busy on the block when up comes an old clocker I knew very well. You know him, too — it was old Tuley Sullivan.

Tuley says to me: listen, Bill. Everyone thinks this is a two-horse race between the Fox and Whichone. But they’re crazy. Why, one of them horses is sore and the other can’t stand up in the mud. If you do the smart thing, you’ll get down off the block and get yourself a few dollars on Jim Dandy. He loves this mud.’

So I did. I moved around quietly and put down ten here and ten there, but I could only get down $110. That wasn’t too bad, though. You know what happened. Jim Dandy came down through that mud like an express train to beat the Fox by eight lengths. I won $11,000.

That wasn’t a bad little piece of change. I really enjoyed it. Sam Rossoff, the subway builder, did a little better — he picked up $60,000 for $600. The only thing that detracted from my enjoyment of the money was that Clem McCarthy thought he’d do me a favor by giving me a little mention in his syndicated column. For two weeks the mailman was bow-legged from bringing in letters from acquaintances all over the country. Most of them began, ‘Please send me $200.’

But I think I could stand up under that irritation again.”

Experienced horsemen say they can distinguish a mudder simply by watching him gallop around the track. They say short-striding horses like the mud. Contrary to public opinion, the size and shape of the feet have nothing to do with the horse’s like or dislike for mud.

Of course there are many horses which prefer running on muddy tracks. These mudders like the sloppy going and perform better in the gumbo than their rivals. When listed in the racing papers, such horses carry asterisk designations or special symbols to point out that they are suited to slow and heavy going.

Look at the record of a typical mudder. He shows well on muddy or heavy tracks, but cannot be depended upon on fast tracks.

Since the weather cannot be forecast accurately far in advance, owners of mudders enter them in many races. If the day turns out to be fair and the track fast, the trainer or owner scratches his horse and removes him from the field that day. However, when the track is muddy, he will permit him to run.

On the other hand, many trainers scratch their horses on muddy days since they do not care to risk their horses for the purse involved. It is easily understood why an owner will not send a $5000 horse to the post on a rainy day for a race which pays $800 win, $250 place, $100 show, and $50 fourth. A fall is likely to result in injury to the horse and his jockey. In many cases the injury is so severe that the horse must be destroyed.

Mud is bad business for horse-players. I don’t think I’ll ever live down a hunch bet I didn’t make. Mrs. B. suggested that we play $2 place on a plater called Clifton’s Comet simply because her sister’s husband came from Clifton, N. J. Now, if there’s anything that doesn’t make sense, it’s the matching of horses’ names with places and such. And furthermore I never recommend place bets, and there’s no reason why I should place one.

Well, the season at Charles Town, West Virginia, had been a rainy one, and the December 12, 1944, program was run on a wet and icy track. There were eight horses entered in the third race. Of these, three were definitely good horses, with the mutuels showing odds as follows; Golden Media 2-1, Within 4-1, and Exploit 13-1. The other beetles were far out of line as far as chances were concerned, and among them was Clifton’s Comet at 38-1.

Within led all the way, with the horses Laugh-and-Play, Cominch, Golden Media and Gay Padre trailing in that order. Coming into the stretch Golden Media fell, along with the two bucks I had riding on her nose. Then Gay Padre slipped and went down. Within slowed down to a walk, and Cominch and Clifton’s Comet came through to finish one-two.

Cominch paid $17.40, $8.00, and $4.20; Clifton’s Comet, $18.40 and $10.00; Within, $4.20.

If you don’t want to weep with me, stay away from “off” tracks.

The steeplechase, an event from two to four miles long with ten to thirty jumps or hurdles, is a combination of running and jumping. A product of European countries, the steeplechase is designed to bring out the best of both characteristics in a horse.

Many steeplechase events result in injury to riders or horses or both. For that reason the steeplechase has never been very popular at the United States race tracks. It continues to be followed passionately in England and other European countries, however.

Occasionally, one steeplechase event is run on a racing program at a big track. However, regular programs of steeplechases, designated as Hunts, are held throughout the country on special jumping courses.

Close followers of steeplechasing have always claimed that the outstanding jumping races in America are run at the hunt meetings and not at the big tracks. These are the Maryland Hunt Cup, four miles over timber, run in the spring of the year in the lovely Worthington Valley outside of Baltimore, Md., and the Foxcatcher National Cup Steeplechase, three miles over huge brush fences, held in the early fall on the course constructed in 1934 by William du Pont Jr. at Fair Hill, about twenty miles south of the du Pont citadel in Wilmington, Delaware.

Some other hunt meetings are; Sandhills, Pinehurst, N. C.; Aiken, S.C.; Deep Run, Richmond, Va.; My Lady’s Manor, Monkton, Md.; Middleburg, Va.; Grand National Point-to-Point, Hereford, Md.; Whitemarsh Valley, Broad Axe, Pa.; Virginia Gold Cup, Warrenton, Va.; Radnor, Berwyn, Pa.; Rose Tree, Media, Pa.; Fairfield and Westchester, Rye, N. Y.; United Hunts, Roslyn, N. Y.; Rockaway, Cedarhurst, N. Y.; Whitemarsh Valley, Flourtown, Pa.; Huntingdon Valley, Jenkintown, Pa.; Rolling Rock, Ligonier, Pa.; Western Pennsylvania Hunts, Greensburg, Pa.; Monmouth County Racing Ass’n, Red Bank, N. J.; Essex Fox Hounds, Far Hills, N. J., and Pickering Hunt, Phoenixville, Pa.

Thousands turn out for these events, coming to the courses by automobile and even airplane.

There has been much controversy about jumping events for many years. Many horsemen are of the opinion that the present style of the jockeys is not conducive to the assistance of a horse in jumping, that a horse needs a free rein to stretch its neck out, and that it is the lack of practice and training which leads to horses tripping over the hurdles or jumps.

The destruction of horses with badly injured legs has always seemed, even to those with some understanding of horse affairs, a ruthless and needless display of cruelty. The declaration that horses with shattered legs cannot possibly be saved, and that an attempt to save them would be far more painful to them than instant destruction, is seldom accepted as a satisfying explanation.

Sometimes it just isn’t possible to save a horse. Only an examination by a veterinary can determine whether there is any chance of saving a horse. In most cases there is no chance.

The brilliant distance runner, Dark Secret, trained by James E. Fitzsimmons, broke a leg at Belmont Park and had to be destroyed. Fitz has the broken leg at his home, mounted for examination by horsemen and medical students. The leg was so shattered that it looked as though it had been shot. Of course, had there been any chance of saving the horse, that chance would have been taken, since the owner and trainer knew that Dark Secret would have made an excellent sire.

A number of attempts have been made from time to time to save horses with broken legs. On occasion, experiments in surgery have been successful. Some years ago publicity was given to an operation in which an Ohio dentist saved the life of a horse by putting its broken leg in a cast made of dental plaster. Another story told of a plaster cast used on the broken leg of a six-weeks- old foal which had stepped in a hole.

Tankie, the dam of Rick’s Raft, broke a leg during a workout, and only the intervention of Henry Knight kept Tankie’s trainer from destroying the horse. The trainer gave the crippled horse to Knight who treated her and later bred her to Peace Chance. Rick’s Raft was the result. Knight sold Rick’s Raft to William Helis.

Horseback riding and racing are not as dangerous as many people suppose. According to government figures, 45 percent more people are killed falling off chairs and tables, and 50 percent more falling on floors, than are killed falling off animals.

Getting in and out of bed kills annually 90 percent more people than getting on and off animals.

The average cost per accident of automobile accidents is $340; the average cost of all accidents is $154; the average cost of accidents suffered while engaged in horse sports is $102.

The destruction of a good race horse is heart-breaking, not only to the owner, but to all followers of the turf. There was a marked silence at Pimlico one November day in 1944 when the good horse, Old Doctor, was fatally injured. Entered in a two-and-a-half-mile contest, old Doctor was leading the field to the second jump when he stumbled and piled up. His jockey landed on his shoulder and suffered a dislocation. The remainder of the field went by Old Doctor who moved feebly and then lay still. Soon the stable boys and handlers were standing around him. When he could not rise, these men and boys began to drag him off the course.

As the remaining horses came around the course a second time, Old Doctor was removed from the racing strip after much effort. The veterinary examined the horse, and when nothing could be done for him, the vet administered an injection which put the horse out of his misery.

Few people watched the race. They were watching the fallen jumper. There were occasional groans from the stands when other horses fell. Only four of the original ten horses finished the race.

Then a lumbering black wagon was drawn onto the course by two swayback horses. A platform was lowered to the ground and Old Doctor was dragged onto the wagon. Old Doctor was too good for the glue factory and was buried by his owner.

Steeplechasing in Ireland way back in 1820 was called “tumble-down racing.” In one race the winner, Brown Bess, fell four times, the rider remounting after each spill. The horse which finished third was down six times. In all there were 12 falls, but according to the report of the contest “nobody was killed.”

The sport frequently led to betting on the number of falls rather than on the winner. Generally, even money was wagered that there would be six or more falls during the running of a “tumbledown race.”

Frequently, in steeplechasing, many horses start and few finish. You can imagine how surprised the judges at Melton Mowbray, England, were a few years ago when they found an extra horse finishing in the Leicestershire Hunt. This peculiar circumstance occurred when Mrs. Leopold Partridge, wife of a horseman, watching the race on a hunter, let her enthusiasm get the better of her as her husband’s mount, Phantom Queen, led the pack the first time around the course.

She entered the course on her horse and joined in for the second lap, finishing third. The judges were mildly upset, and Mrs. Partridge was fined ten pounds (about $45) for what Lord Lonsdale termed a “monstrous intrusion.”

The steeplechase at Laurel, Md., on October 23, 1944, turned out to be a farce when only two of the five starters completed the course. The comedy began at the first jump when Field Glass refused the fence and unseated his rider. Jockey Mason remounted Field Glass, but the horse refused the second jump and again dislodged his rider. Mason decided to call it a day at that point.

The other four horses continued on their merry way. At the sixth jump Anticosti fell and threw his rider, Lucas, but the jockey remounted, with the idea that he would still gain fourth money for the contest. Anticosti was far back and definitely out of it, but at the tenth obstacle Last Ace threw his rider, who decided to stay out of the race.

This gave Anticosti almost certain third money even though he was forty lengths behind, but the trailing Anticosti fell at the eleventh jump. Jockey Lucas was too stunned to remount.

Only two horses remained in the race, Yammer beating the favored Sussex by eight lengths. The show mutuel pool was therefore divided between the two horses and consequently both paid more to show than to place, an unusual happenstance.

The official payoff was: Yammer $17.90, $3.50, $4.50; Sussex, $2.30, $2.80.

A steeplechase race which was run at the old Benning track in Washington, D.C., in 1890 during its inaugural supplied a good deal of amusement, and later became a Thanksgiving Day feature at the track while it operated. The chase was for gentlemen riders, all members of the exclusive Chevy Chase, Md., Club.

Twelve members entered the race, decked in red hunting coats, high silk hats, and riding boots. The twelve riders made a colorful picture at the start, but the color turned to comedy at the first jump. Several riders fell, rolling over in the dusty grass as their mounts dashed over the infield.

After the first few jumps all riders were down and twelve horses scampered in all directions in the infield. Silk hats were blown about the ground by a breeze that made retrieving a merry chase. One rider, after regaining his hat, caught his horse, remounted, and then slowly negotiated each jump. He was the only finisher and naturally took the purse.

The Grand National is considered the blue ribbon event of the British steeplechase season because of the severity of the course. Known as the Aintree course although it is part of the Liverpool race track, it has thirty jumps over its four and one-half miles.

In the thirty-six years ending 1935, there were 993 horses that started in the Grand National, and only 292 finished. In 1911 only one of the 26 starters finished; in 1921 only one out of 35 finished, and in 1928 only 2 out of 42 starters crossed the finish line.

Probably the cruelest story in the files is that concerning the three-horse Pitchcroft Hurdle Race in Worcester, England, in June, 1933. Craigendoran and First Principle both ran out of the course and were therefore disqualified.

All that the third horse Broomlet had to do was to finish. However, when Broomlet was only a few yards from the finish line he fell and broke a leg. His rider remounted and urged the horse on in spite of his injury. The horse crossed the finish line in agony and a few seconds later was destroyed.

In a steeplechase, when none of the horses finishes, the money wagered in the pari-mutuels or books must be refunded to the customers. If only one horse finishes, all the money wagered (except for “take”) goes to the horse’s backers.

Mac A. Whitten, old-time horseman, recalls that the most outstanding exhibition he ever witnessed in fifty years of racing, was at Jamaica in September, 1904. An old gelding, Bar Le Duc, well past his prime, was entered in a selling (claiming) race. The horse broke down a few yards from the wire, but he was so far in front that he crow-hopped, dragging his ruined leg the remaining distance, to win by a scant margin.

My involvement in this issue is extensive. I have owned and raced both thoroughbred and standard bred racehorses, and I authored the book, “The Misuse of Drugs in Horse Racing,” a compendium of scientific and medical evidence pertaining to drug abuse in racehorses as well as a study of the economic effects of drug abuse on the racing industry. This book is a result of 18 months of extensive research on the subject.

The most flagrant abuse of drugs on the race tracks at the present time is their utilization to enable sore, injured, or lame horses to compete in spite of their infirmities. The most commonly used drugs for this purpose are the anti-inflammatory analgesics such as Butazolidin (generic name phenylbutazone) commonly known as “Bute,” and the steroid cortisone type drugs. The classes of drugs provide symptomatic relief only. They suppress the inflammation and heat of an injury, and reduce swelling and pain, but they do not cure the underlying pathological condition; thus these types of drugs should normally be used only in conjunction with rest.

Unfortunately, these pain-killing drugs are permitted to be administered at race time by numerous racing jurisdictions throughout the country, and are being used to mask a horse’s pain, thus enabling the horse to run full out on an injured leg. This practice nearly always aggravates injuries and often an injured leg shatters under the stress of racing, causing dangerous spills in which horses are crippled and must be destroyed. According to a report by Dr. Caroline Gall, a veterinarian representing the West Virginia Racing Commission, the number of horses sustaining injuries serious enough to require their destruction at Waterford Park Race Track increased 114 percent when Butazolidin was approved for use by the West Virginia State Racing Commission in 1975. Even less fortunate than the horses that are humanely destroyed are the horses that are less severely injured and are forced through the use of drugs to continue their racing careers in spite of chronic and painful injuries.

A serious consequence of horses “breaking down” while racing, are the resulting spills which cause crippling and sometimes fatal injuries to jockeys. The tragic racing death of Jockey Robert Pineda was caused when a horse named Easy Edith suffered a broken bone in her left foreleg at Pimlico Race Track. Easy Edith had been treated for arthritic knees with corticosteroids (cortisone) and phenylbutazone (Bute) prior to racing that day. Although no one knows to what extent the Bute or steroids were responsible for Easy Edith’s breakdown, an out-of-court settlement was reached in a civil suit filed by Pineda’s heirs against Easy Edith’s trainer and owner, three veterinarians and the operator of Pimlico Race Track. Not coincidentally, the Maryland State Racing Commission subsequently banned the use of these drugs on the same day as the out-of-court settlement.

The medical risks involved in racing an injured horse on anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs is well documented in veterinary-scientific literature. “Equine Medicine & Surgery” (2d ed; American Veterinary Publications, Inc., 1972), which is the principal textbook on equine medicine used by U.S. veterinary schools states, “The horse should not be trained while being given anti-inflammatory drugs because it will not protect the leg as it would if pain were experienced normally.”

In “Lameness In Horses” (3d ed; Lea & Febiger, 1974), the principal textbook on equine orthopedic medicine, the author states in reference to Butazolidin that “in many cases it is used to alleviate symptoms of lameness without allowing sufficient rest for healing of the part. In this case, additional damage is done to the joint while the horse goes on with racing workouts. This eventually leads to a complete degeneration of the joint.” This text further warns: “Too often, corticoid or phenylbutazone therapy allows the horse to be used, causing further injury before healing has taken place.” “The Merck Veterinary Manual” (5d ed; Merck & Co., 1979) in a chapter titled “Lameness In Horses,” states: “anti-inflammatory treatment combined with continued training and racing will accelerate the degenerative process within the knee.” It continues: “anti-inflammatory medication, if used along with continued training or racing leads inevitably to the destruction of the joint surfaces.”

Bringing the point closer to home, if you sprained an ankle or twisted your knee and then were administered a pain-killer and proceeded to play a game of tennis or handball, you can imagine the condition of your leg the following morning. This is, in effect, what is occurring to many racehorses every time they compete. And while you can envision the detrimental consequences of this type of practice on a human, it is even more detrimental to a horse, since it must support a massive body structure plus the weight of a jockey on very thin and delicate legs. A horse at racing speed can generate several thousand foot pounds of force which is absorbed at one phase of the gallop on a single forelimb. You can well imagine the devastating consequences that occur when a horse is forced to race full out on an injured limb.

Dr. James R. Rooney, a world renowned equine pathologist and the author of several equine veterinary textbooks, including” Biomechanics of Lameness in Horses,’ writes: “It is true however, that if one masks pain, the initial lesion or damage which caused the pain will progress and become worse. Pain is a protective, feedback device. It tells the horse that something is wrong, and that he should limp or in some other way protect the injured part. If we block that pain feedback before the damaged area has healed, the horse no longer is aware of the damage and returns to full use of the part. Such full use will often overload the damaged area and further damage, to the point of total disruption may occur.”

Dr. Arthur W. Patterson, Jr. of the United States Food and Drug Administration, who personally reviews and recommends approval of every new drug that goes on the market for horses, warns that, “If the horse has to be medicated right up to the race, he isn’t well enough to run. We’re not serving the public by squeezing one last race out of him.” According to a report published in the “Journal of the American Veterinary Medi- cal Association” (February 15, 1970), “Because of the ability of phenylbutazone to reduce inflammation and alleviate pain, thoroughbreds otherwise unable to compete have remained in training and raced successfully. This has led to the indiscriminate use of the drug at many race tracks.”

With all the medical evidence available documenting the dire consequences afflicted upon racehorses by allowing the misuse of drugs, one might ask why have so many racing commissions passed permissive drug rules. Many will say that the answer is complex, but actually it appears that economic factors have taken precedence over any consideration for the well-being of the horse.

In an effort to increase revenue, racing commissions across the nation have permitted racetracks to increase the number of races they conduct each year. Many tracks expanded their racing seasons to the extent that racing soon became a year-round sport in many areas. Subsequently, horsemen claimed that the only way they could fill the increased race cards would be to allow them to administer drugs to their sore horses in order to make them race more.

Keene Daingerfield, Senior State Steward of the Kentucky Racing Commission, and one of those responsible for drafting Kentucky’s permissive Medication Rules, says “For years we’ve heard that horses in need of medication should not be racing and should be sent to the farms. The fact is that with year-round racing, this position is impossible to maintain.” The Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA), the largest organization of owners and trainers of thoroughbred race-horses, has long advocated the racing of horses under the influence of certain drugs. According to Anthony Chamblin, the HPBA’s executive director, “The reasons for this policy position are many and varied, but basically are due to the demands caused by increased [racing] dates and winter racing.”

A Wall Street Journal article quotes Warren Schweder, executive director of the National Association of State Racing Commissioners saying, “Legislatures are mandating more and more racing and the horsemen claim they can’t provide it unless they can use ‘Bute’ on their sore animals. Everybody knows that what a sore animal really needs is rest, but that’s getting to be a luxury the game can’t afford.”

Dr. Joseph Solomon, past president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), and the AAEP’s horse racing representative, has long been a proponent of racing horses under the influence of drugs and has even testified in behalf of the HBPA in favor of permissive drug rules. Dr. Solomon’s reasoning for such a position was clearly demonstrated in a speech he presented to the Mid-America Veterinary Conference. Dr. Solomon told his colleagues that “My own experience with [permitted] medication is that there has been one undesirable and unpredicted backlash: The creation of an aura of over-confidence among the handlers of sore horses, who feel that they can race their horses with safety on medication.”

Dr. Solomon pointed out that, “when faced with the choices of resting a race horse for four to six months or putting him on Bute, injecting his sore knee, dropping him down in class, and going on with him, the modern owner is much more likely to opt for the latter. The result is another horse being loaded onto the track ambulance in front of a packed grandstand.” Dr. Solomon also told his colleagues that “no responsible veterinarian ever argued. . . . that the long-term effect of [permitted] medication could be anything but deleterious.” But Dr. Solomon argued that the reason for favoring medication programs at race time is that “[it is] the only way racing can continue as presently structured, that is year-round racing in most areas.”

From the preceding statements, it is obvious that the racing industry is well aware of the harm of racing injured horses on anti-inflammatory analgesic drugs such as Butazolidin, but the industry’s desire to maximize profits overrides any concern for the welfare of the horse. This type of thinking is not only injurious to the horse, but it is an economic policy that is not supported by factual data.

The arguments of many in the racing industry would imply that without drug-filled horses, racing and the revenues derived from it, would dry up. This is contrary to all evidence. While the number of thoroughbred races has increased dramatically — 74 percent over the past twenty years — the number of thoroughbred runners has increased 117 percent and the number of thoroughbred foals registered with the Jockey Club increased an astounding 178 percent. On this basis alone it could scarcely be argued that there is any economic necessity for running injured horses in order to fill the starting gates of American race tracks.

Dr. Gene M. Bierhaus, chief veterinarian of the Colorado Racing Commission, was the first to institute permissive medication laws and listed as the reason, “to provide full fields of useful horses for the racing association.” Yet this argument also appears to be based on false economics and cannot be verified by statistics. In 1961, before Butazolidin was widely legalized, the average field size was 8.9 runners per race, while in 1980 the average field was 8.7. The fact that the size of fields has failed to increase since 1961 is truly amazing when one considers that the number of racehorses has been increasing at a dramatically faster rate than the number of races during this same period. It would appear that the use of drugs, instead of providing fuller fields, has actually served to contain the size of fields in spite of the recent increase in the number of horses.

This is understandable when one considers that while drugs will permit an incapacitated horse to race today, that same horse will eventually start in fewer races because of the resulting increase in physical damage to its musculoskeletal system. In 1961, before Butazolidin was widely legalized at race time, all horses in North America started an average of 12 races per year. In 1980, a year when many racing jurisdictions allowed the use of drugs, the average number of starts had decreased to 9 races per year. Kent Hollingsworth, editor of “The Blood Horse,” a major and respected thoroughbred racing publication, wrote in an editorial, “letting down the barriers to permit unsound horses to race on medication — rather than waiting until therapeutic measures bring them back to normal health so they can race without medication — is an expediency based on untenable economics.”

Some trainers might feel it is economical to administer symptomatic relief to an injured horse in order to continue racing instead of allowing time-consuming therapeutic measures to return the horse to a normal healthy state. However, this practice can only be interpreted as nearsightedness on their part, and ultimately proves self-defeating as is obvious from the fact that horses are averaging three less races per year since drug rules have been extensively liberalized.

The grave risk of increasing damage to an injured horse by racing on anti-inflammatory drugs has been reiterated in an abundance of veterinary textbooks, research papers, and even by the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture these drugs. Jensen-Salsbery Laboratories, the only pharmaceutical company licensed to sell phenylbutazone under the brand name of Butazolidin for veterinary use, states, “alleviating inflammation resulting from tissue injury may restore or contribute to increased function, but it does not alleviate the clinical condition. This must be accomplished by the normal healing process.”

The result of masking this inflammation and pain (which nature intended to be there so that the animal would not move the injured area excessively and impede the healing process) is that the horse does not realize he hurts and keeps trying to run as hard as he can, subsequently increasing the damage. Thus, in many cases, treatment with anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs, when not accompanied by rest, is more detrimental than helpful, since it enables horses to be raced and causes further injury, increases existing damage, and shortens horses’ careers.

From the above statistics it is obvious that H.R. 2331, while protecting horses from drug abuse, would not decrease the number of horses available to race, nor decrease the number of times a horse races per year, nor decrease the size of the fields; and thus this bill would in no way adversely affect the economic condition of the racing industry.

Another drug which has been legalized at race time within the past few years in many states is Lasix (generic name furosemide). Those racing commissions which approved Lasix did so believing that the drug would prevent pulmonary hemorrhage in horses while racing. The stress of racing often causes horses to rupture blood vessels in their lungs, resulting in various degrees of bleeding. In the majority of cases, this bleeding is not serious, however, if the horse has a pre-existing pulmonary disease, or is not properly conditioned for racing, the rupture of blood vessels in the lungs can be severe and cause the horse to drown in its own blood.

The logical treatment for horses suffering from severe pulmonary hemorrhage is rest from racing. Dr. W. R. Cook emphasizes this point in the “Equine Veterinary Journal” (April, 1974): “The ‘breaking of blood vessels’ can be prevented if the stress which produces the hemorrhage is removed i.e., if the horse is taken out of training. Trainers are often reluctant to follow this advice but a method of emphasizing the need for at least some rest from racing is to ask the trainer what advice he or she would give an athlete son who coughed up blood from the lungs after a 200 meter hurdle race?”

Unfortunately, just as trainers attempt to keep their musculo-skeletal cripples racing by the use of Butazolidin, they also strive to keep their pulmonary cripples racing through the use of Lasix. This practice is not only cruel but also appears to be based on clinical misconceptions and untenable economics. The number of horses observed bleeding on the race tracks in California actually increased by 20 percent after Lasix was permitted by the California Horse Racing Board. From the above statistics Lasix could hardly be considered a drug effective in the prevention of pulmonary hemorrhage, nor a drug necessary for the economic survival of horse racing.

While the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Lasix as a diuretic, it has never approved Lasix for the purpose of treating horses hemorrhaging from the lungs. Furthermore, there has been no evidence to date that proves that Lasix significantly prevents the occurrence of pulmonary hemorrhage, nor is there one iota of evidence to substantiate that Lasix cures the pathological condition in the lungs which causes this hemorrhaging. In fact, according to the “Arizona Republic” (March 1, 1982), the Arizona Racing Commission reported that the number of horses that have suffered bleeding during a race has been reduced substantially since Lasix was banned in Arizona in April of 1981.

Perhaps, the real reason for using this drug on racehorses is not for any therapeutic effect that it might have on a horse that bleeds, but for its ability to interfere with the detection of illegal stimulants, depressants, and narcotics which might appear in post-race urine tests. According to a research report authored by directors of seven of the leading testing laboratories in the country, “Lasix is a potent diuretic which increased urine output approximately 40- to 50-fold in the horse. The report states that this increased diuresis serves to dilute drugs and metabolites in similar amounts, thereby interfering with drug analysis. In a research study involving seven official racehorse drug-testing laboratories, the administration of Lasix interfered with the analysis of drugs even when administered up to six hours prior to testing.” According to Dr. Arthur W. Patterson, equine veterinary officer, of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “There is no doubt some trainers are using Lasix to mask other (illicit) drugs that may be administered before a race. Whether Lasix actually prevents bleeders is iffy… the real interest is in flushing and masking [illegal drugs].”

There is also strong evidence to show that Butazolidin significantly interferes with the detection of many dangerous and illegal drugs which might show up in post-race urine and blood tests. Recent studies by six of the leading state testing laboratories in the country have reported that Butazolidin is capable of interfering with the detection of all classes of drugs, including stimulants, depressants, and powerful synthetic narcotic type drugs which can prove extremely harmful to horses.

Not only are such permissive state drug rules cruel to the horses, but because of the interference problems caused by Butazolidin and Lasix, it is impossible to maintain any semblance of integrity in the sport of horse racing. If you put enough legal drugs such as Lasix and Butazolidin into a horse’s system, it makes it difficult or close to impossible for the racing chemists to detect illegal stimulants and depressants. To a considerable extent this drug abuse practice invalidates many of the factors which formerly made betting attractive to the racing fan. It is for these reasons that two of the largest national organizations of racing fans, The American Race-goers Association and The Racing Fans Club of America are staunch supporters of this bill.

In summary, H.R. 2331 would not only protect the racehorse from cruel and inhumane treatment, but would also serve to protect the betting public, while actually having a beneficial effect on the economy of the racing industry. It is for these reasons that the Humane Society of the United States, the largest national animal welfare organization in the country, requests your support of H.R. 2331. Again, I thank you for granting our organization the opportunity to testify here today and for giving this important humane matter your thoughtful consideration.