All men love a horse who know a horse. The love of contest and struggle
forms a kinship between man and horse that exists between no others. It
is the gameness, the courage, the fighting spirit of the thoroughbred
which arouses in man the finest instincts, and it is these qualities
that cause the love of man for the thoroughbred. It is noticeable too,
that the thoroughbred horse loves only those human beings who possess
those same qualities.
On the race-track we find the only pure democracy of the world, a
democracy which includes all classes, all strata of society. It is more
liberal, more forgiving of human frailties and human weakness, than any
other place, because men who know racing understand how hearts break
when the weight cloths are too heavy and the distance too great.
These little tales of the turf are based upon real incidents and real
characters. Perhaps those lovers of racing who have lived the life will
recognize the characters, and to those I would plead that they extend
to them the same broad understanding and forgiveness that they give to
the tout, the cadger, and the down and outer in real life.