92 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



A few years ago, a survey of harness horses was made, and from the 

 best available information, it was estimated, that about 50,000 horses were 

 started into training, in the United Staes, by April 1st of each year. 20,000 

 of these were either colts, to be handled temporarily or horses that did 

 not show promise enough to warrant continuing their training, and they 

 fell by the wayside in the first month. About 30,000 started the repeating 

 process, but 10,000 of them failed to show quality enough to justify con- 

 tinuing their training through June. By that time, another 10,000 went 

 lame and got sick, or trained badly, or suffered some of the thousand and 

 one ills which horseflesh is heir to, and that left 10,000 harness horses to 

 to get to the races. Now listen: Out of the 10,000 horses that started out 

 to the races, 500 paid their expenses. As a business proposition, for an 

 owner, it certainly is not alluring. I have made a tabulation of the 

 amounts paid for harness racing by the state fairs of the Middle West, the 

 past year of 1918, and 10 years ago, 1908. I find that the average purses 

 were less this year than ten years ago. 



Amount of Average 



Town Year No races Purses Purse 



Sedalia 1908 13 $ 9,200 $ 707 



1918 13 11,500 884 



Springfield 1908 15 14,400 960 



1918 17 16,200 952 



Des Moines 1908 11 9,000 818 



1918 20 18,300 915 



Hamline 1908 13 28,800 2,215 



1918 15 18,200 1,213 



Milwaukee 1908 16 29,000 1,812 



1918 14 22,100 1,578 



Lincoln 1908 14 9,500 678 



1918 13 11,200 861 



Huron 1908 9 4,300 477 



1918 12 10,960 913 

 1908 — 91 races, purses amounted to $104,200. Average purse $1,145. 



1918 — 104 races, purses amounted to $108,460. Average purse, $1,042. 



Prom the above, it can be seen, that opportunity to earn more money is 

 denied an owner by the lessening of purses, while the expenses connected 

 with owning and racing horses, have more than doubled. This every one 

 knows. The best informed fair managers now regard harness racing as 

 a vaudeville act, pure and simple. It is nothing else, and if so, it is the 

 only vaudeville act, which after being purchased at a certain price, per- 

 mits the fair manager to deduct a certain percentage, either 3% or 5%, for 

 each actor employed in the act, and then takes 5% more from the salaries 

 of each of the four best actors in every act, after the act is finished. T 

 fancy I hear Mr. Fred Barnes talking it over with the fair manager that 

 attempted to do this to him. Yet this is done to every horseman, by 

 every secretary, at every fair, held in the United States. I feel that point 

 Number 2 is well taken, and that if we of the state fairs, wish to continue 

 to have harness races as part of our attractions we will have to abolish the 

 entrance fee and deductions, or if we exact an entrance fee add it to the 

 purse. I understand Mr. Mcllvaine did abolish entrance fees at the South 

 Dakota state fair this year, and that he is very well satisfied with the re- 

 sult. As he is present at this meeting, I am going to ask him to give his 

 views on the subject, later in the day. 



