Lovers of the Horse 55 



HARNESS RACING IN CANADA 



IF we were to l)e asked wliicli breed uf horses is the most popular in Canachi, the 

 unhesitating reply would be the light harness horse. The other breeds, such as 



the hackney, thoroughbred, heavy-draught, etc., are excellent in their way, but 

 their field of usefulness hardly covers the range that the light harness hor.se does. 

 The latter can do about all that any of the others can do, and much more. The ad- 

 mirers of some of the other l)reeds will hold diti'erent oi^inious, which, perhaps, is onlv 

 natural, but at the same time it is doubtful if they could advance arguments that would 

 warrant their o])inion. The standard-bred, or well-bred trotter or pacer, makes a first- 

 class horse for the farm, as he can work longer than anv of the heavier breeds, although 

 much lighter in weight. When jnit at heavy hauling, he may make more trips on the 

 job, but his rapidity of action fairly counterbalances his lack of pulling ca])acitv. As 

 a carriage horse he has no equal, and in proof of this assertion it is onlv necessarv to 

 j)oint out that nearly all of the champion heavy harness horses of the present day are 

 standard-breds, or animals bred in trotting lines. While not equalling the thorough- 

 bred or half-bred in ])erformance under the saddle, he is, however, fairly good at that 

 work. As a gentleman's driver or road horse he is in a class by himself, as he not 

 only has speed and good manners, but can travel an extraordinary number of miles 

 in a day. 



While the trotter or pacer (we combine them for they are so near alike) has manv 

 other (jualities to commend him, it is his ability to move fast on track and road that 

 l)rings him most prominently in the public eye, and the large increase in the number 

 of harness horse meetings givn annually in this country, is ample evidence that this style 

 of racing is becoming more i)opular each succeeding year. Not many vears since meet- 

 ings for harness horses were few and far betw^een in Canada, while now there are hun- 

 dreds, made up of circuits in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Eastern Ontario, Western Ontario, 

 Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia, besides scores of independent meetino-s 

 outside of the circuit. In addition the numl)er of entries in the early closing events, 

 as well as at the meetings themselves, shows that there are at least twentv-five per 

 cent, more horses racing in 1!)0S than in any previous year. 



Here in Canada, while our o])])ortunities have not l)een of the l)est, we have 

 |)roduced some truly great performers on the track in the past, and, from the 

 number of really high-class horses in training at the present time, it is safe to predict 

 that we will continue to hold up our end with the cracks of the big country to the 

 south of us. 



Within recent years we liave turned out such good performers as Angus Pointer, 

 a pacer that made a world-wide re])utation competing against the fastest horses of 

 America on the (irand Circuit, when he went tlirough the sea.son of IDOT with but a 

 single defeat, and tliat in his first race on the circuit at Detroit, when he was hardly 

 ready for a bruising race. However, lie turned the tal)les in his next race, when he 

 handilv beat Baron (iraltau, the horse tliat beat liitn at Detroit, 'i'he Canadian-bred 



