THE THOROUGHBRED HORSE 



93 



iOL A by the best individuals, as well as the prominence 

 whiaa the breed has attained, can be attributed, in part 

 at least, to the fact that the destiny of the breed has been 

 ast with men who have unlimited resources on which 

 CO draw. 



During the past century important changes have oc- 

 curred in the system under which Thoroughbreds are 



FIG. 61.— THOROUGHBRED STALLION "HERMIS" 



raced, which have resulted in corresponding modifications 

 in type. Formerly the horse was not raced until mature 

 and the distance covered was two, three, four and five 

 miles, while at the present time the custom is to run 

 dashes of a mile, or less, to carry less weight, and to start 

 as two-year-olds. Some persons doubt the wisdom of 

 the present methods and contend that the stamina and 

 weight-carrying ability are not improved by the modern 

 method of racing. Further, conflicting opinions are ex- 

 pressed with regard to the probability of modern horses 

 being capable of lowering the long-distance records of a 

 century ago. Comparison is difficult ; formerly the races 

 were few and the horses specially trained, while at 



