The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-09-19
The Handicap.

Handicap, or hand in the cap, Is the
.tymology of the word, and its original
Specification was the drawing of lots
from cap for choice of position in
! race or athletic contest. From this it
came to mean q system of arbitration
BY which the inequalities o contestants
should be removed. The word Is now
used in various games and sports to de.
uote the pla ing of competitors, good,
bad and indi ierent, on such footing
, that all shall have, as nearly as posi-
bic, an equal chance winning. Thus
! in horse racing, when one horse is
found to be greatly superior to his con-
testant he is made to carry extra weight
enough TO reduce his speed to that OF
the o.her. The beau ideal of handi-
cap would be such a nice discrimina-
ton as to the mel its of the contestants,
and such an adjustment of these draw
backs, that there would result a 'dead
heat" But i'm practice this is impos-
sible; but the official Handicapped be-
comes very acute in his discrimination,
and his decisions are regarded as law.
In horse racing. according TO an En-
glish authority, no locke; with his sad
die, ETC.. must weigh less than five
stone and seven pounds, but the maxi
mum is left in the hands of the handicap
per. who apportions to each horse a
weight corresponding to its pub
| lie performance, age or sex.
No appeal is allowed from his
decision. He has arbitrary power, and
must be q person of sound Judgment,
unquestioned integrity and thorough
experience When the handlcaps have
been announced no change can be made.
Each jockey is weighed with his saddle
be ore starting, and the extra weight
to be carried is made up of lead strips
let into the saddle flaps. The weights
range from three pounds up to fifty and
sixty pounds.
The principle of handicapping is APP
| piled TO many other sports than horse
racing, though the adjustment is made
in diIerent ways. In pigeon shooting
the more skill.ul the marksman, the
farther he must stand from the mark
in comparison with the less skilled. In
chess. certain ''men" are given to
equaliZe tho players. In billiards,
"paints" are given. In yachting,
pedestriauism, ETC., "start" is al
lowed. When yacht of large tonnage
is handicapped with lesser one, extra
! time is allowed for the performance of
| the race. For instance, if a fifty ana a
| thirty ton yacht start for q race, the
| former allows the latter say, five MN
utes They start together, and the
heavier yacht reaches home, say. three
minutes in advance of the other. In
that case the lighter yachts handicap
of five minutes gives her the race by
two minutes, though she was the last to
reach home. Whatever the method of
adjustment used, the principle is the
same, to equal g by certain drawbacks,
the good, bad and indifferent in the
race.
In the bicycle races in England the
system mentioned above as applied to
yachting is sometimes used. But such
races are uninteresting to spectators, as
they can not readily follow and time
the races. What the crowd likes to see
is a grand struggle on the home run,
and in an accurately-ad listed handicap
race. so arranged, the struggle is very
exciting This is affected in the system
most in vogue in this country, the
distance handicap" and the thine
handicap" In he distance handicap.
ten wards to a second are allowed be-
tween contestants of different records.
For instance, A, with record of SIN,
IS matched with b, with re ord of
$40. A is placed at the scratch and b
at 100 yards IN advance, and both start
at the same instant. TIL disadvantage
of this is that B does not run full
mile.
In the time handicap, which is adopt
ed by the Springfield Bicycle Club Tor
its races, the conte stants all start from
the scratch, but not together. The man
with the slowest record is started first,
and he with the best record last. Thus
A, with record of three minutes, will
wait at the scratch ten seconds after Ii
with his $40 record has started. This
method of handicapping is perfectly
fair, and has the advantage of being
easily understood by the spectators.
Every contestant is obliged to run his
full mile, and the difference IN time is
much more accura'e handicap than a
difference in distance. Thus at the
finish the contestants, if they are equal
to their records. are well punched to-
gether. and the spectators know that
the first man under the line WINS
W. eel,a1n'S EHzSye