Carson daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1873-1877, 1876-02-25
ABOUT THE GREAT RACE.

days APrE-L We gave 4 IS our opinion
that the so-called .'Grea, Race - was s.
shameful sell Is lot 20 b worth talk
ing about Perhaps that remark needs
qualifying. Perhaps !: - Ieen more
wisely SAID that i was 80 ba.efaced &
swinlIo IS 10 be = saljsc; i'r Very serl-
Gus comments. We writer's who DO not
Know much ..bou. horses. save l. al SUI
lace way,-men @; ulstaJls minds in
equine matters are apt to yield 70
The temptation q talking horse, out II a
harmless vanity 70 appear az -. II tie
language and taJ,1-:a!ll q the sporting
Gentleman ami club Inan-tLe hunting
sla.Ees and stecg.s-cLase.s 4 our cd
English realm. ECt ]. IS c. thing 10
VIE -.i6Iy about Lo-sz--.c-u- AID an
c.le- thing to have 4 sound Judgment in
lie affairs Of tie stUi-book and tie tU-f.
Any dapper dilettante can write airy
criticisms upon high az, ard pra;s OF
atmosphere an. sentiment and express
ION and feeling; any I.PPa-, I5i,arer
abo1t the precincts Of bohemia feels
himself 81 liberty 20 become a. oracle il
the affairs Of architecture. the drama
and tue science q music, and t.r too
many men who would ind :, difficult 10
distinguish between O. blood horse and
an unaiuiteratad dunghil, axe free TO
write with Gn air Of conclusive wisdom.
oi the technical matters Of the turf
matters only known to careful AMI stuj,i-
Gus Lorsemen and stock-raisers after
years Ct experience and cultivated juds-
.nent. Doubtless there Eas been much
10 justify the suspicion that IL Great
Race at San Francisco was unfairly COZ
iucted- Such protuse preparations had
been made, so much trGmpetis Lad
been done; SO highly wrought had been
the public expectation, that there was
most deadening disappointment expert
e1ced when the telegraph brought the
report of the time made and the horses
distanced. The idea that Katie Pease
and Rutherford could be shut out by
any horse. much less by horse like
Foster, who is but little known and
very recent celebrity, was 50 great a
shock tina: there was no explaining it
but by the ready-at-hand theory and
charge of dishonesty. (By the way,
Rutherford was not distanced. He
was but five lengths behind at the final
ouscome.l Horse-racing and horse
racers are not in high repute at best. A
great many people can never be per-
saaded that the whole business, wler-
ever pursued, is not a game of sharp
ers, so cunniugly conducted as to
preclude all possibility Of fair dealing.
While We do not share IN this unehari-
table view, we are conscious Of being
unwilling TO seem SO gUllible as to be
an easy Prey to the parties who
conduct the game. Indeed. a great deal
o. what seems to be suspicion is merely
the expression, always uoro or less
absurd, of vanity which likes to seem
the outgrowtb of a cleverness that is
proof against cheating, and a shrewdness
which not only suspects but diyines the
selfish and knavish notions CT others.
We are quite as apt to cheat ourselves as
re are to prevent others frem cheating
US, by yielding to these weaknesses and
infatuations.
We find, in looking over the CAreai-
els's report Of the race Of Tuesday, that
the judges selected for the stand were
Mayor Bryant, Honorable Nathan
Coombs, and Mr.. j. j. Haggin. We do
not believe that either OF these gentle
men could be induced to be a party to
any rascality like that OF giving a false
decision in a race. Bryant IS the Mayor
of San Francisco. We have too much
respect for his Judgment and for Lis
ideas of self-respec. to think that he
would be privy to any deliberate swim
lie. Nathan Coombs has a reputation
which makes it impossible that we
should believe him capable Of doing the
dirty work for parcel of tricking horse
jockeys. Mr.. j. 3. Haggin is OF the
well known firm Of Haggin & lewis
men who stand in the front rank OF San
Francisco capitalists and honorable Cit
liens. So that there WAS no possibility
of any knavery in the judges stand.
The distance judges, whose decision
shut out Hoekhocking and the rest. were
Phil McGovern aud John Martin. We |