TOD SLOAN 



It is a most difficult thing too to give an owner the 

 right idea when to bet and when not to, especially 

 when that man has not been racing all his life. Half a 

 suggestion by a trainer to an experienced owner is 

 enough sometimes ; the latter will take the responsi- 

 bility on himself and kick afterwards. So many 

 owners and trainers have fallen out over this, some 

 being too hopeful while others hate to have any hand 

 in making a suggestion. If the owner is a betting 

 man there is frequently a better time afterwards when 

 advising a failure than when a man of non-speculation 

 has an occasional small flutter and it goes down. 



I am afraid Mr Myers thought I was over-confident 

 sometimes and he would say so on occasions — after a 

 race — but always cheerfully. Archie Maclntyre, now 

 in Roumania, rode a good deal for us ; also others ; 

 and there was frequently a race thrown away through 

 not following orders. I don't believe in hampering 

 a boy with too many instructions, but in the case of 

 horses of peculiar temperaments — well, I studied this 

 more than many did. 



Taking them all round, they were a cheap lot of 

 horses Mr Myers had, but they could win all the same. 

 By degrees, however, Mr Myers got tired of racing and 

 weeded out the stable, selling some and giving away 

 others until finally he gave it all up, only keeping the 

 two mentioned for breeding purposes. 



When all those pleasant days in Brussels are re- 

 membered it is a terrible thing to think of all the 

 places we went to and spent such a happy time in 

 being swept away and gone for a long time, so far as 

 racing is concerned. In its way Belgium was a para- 

 dise for a small owner : he could have a chance with 

 moderate-priced horses and back them at fair odds too, 

 thus helping him to make it pay ; whether racing will 



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