Tracks muddy or off. It is notorious that upsets occur most commonly on muddy or heavy tracks. Horses that fig ure to win do so less consistently when the track is off. Therefore, although some animals are known to like soft footing, it is best to confine play to courses that are fast or good on the particular day. Quitters that can negotiate the going at all seem somewhat less addicted to giving up in the stretch when the track is muddy. Whether this is on account of their action, shorter and choppier than that of a long-striding route-horse, or whether it is because such front-runners throw mud from their heels in the faces of animals chasing them, I do not know. But the fact is curious.