Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-09-09
SPORTING.

Sports 0l all klIlQS are IOI Oilly PlOe'o
ing and entertaining, but they are in the
highest degree healthful. But the danger
OF all sports is that they will degenerate
into the vulgarity OF being professional
rather than amateur. The country is
now flooded with professional base ball
clubs, and even our own city seems TO
have gone mad over the game. There
can never be the same love OF genuine
sport where any game is turned into a
money-making affair that there is when
the game is played, no matter what it is,
for the love OF it. In the East they have
a much greater variety of sports than out
West, owing to the West being without
bays and sounds, but there is one sport
which, if properly conducted, should
be as successful in the West
as in the East We refer TO the
matter Of racing. From time to time
races are given here, and some have been
of a very good character and worth of far
more lannon's turfs than that of Salt Lake,
and some have been unworthy this city.
Americans, as rule, have as keen love
for horses as any people in the world, and
each year races become more numerous
everywhere throughout the ceutry, and
better horses are put on the turf. All this
is commendable, but the turf has always
been a place for the operations of rascals
who would not hesitate to dose horse or
q man to win few paltry dollars. But
such as these are not the only ones who
perform swindling operations at races;
there is another class; we refer to the
drivers and trainers OF horses. 1t has
become common remark that no man
can tell the best horse in a lot of starters
unless he is on the "inside." Such
things should not be, yet such things are.
The managers of race courses cannot
always control such matters, but they
should be extremely vigilant and see
that everything within their power is
done to prevent frauds being committed,
and when they detect anyone perpetrat-
ing fraud, they should not hesitate to
deal with him as severely as possible and
publish the name OF such one in the
papers; and they should Immediately
send the name of such driver or trainer
or owner to all the associated tracks of
the country. Another thing that should
be done by managers of race courses Is TO
abolish the sale of pools, no maettr what
their form, upon the course elsewhere, OF
course, they cannot control the matter.
1t is often said that without the pool box
on q track there would be no interest
in races, and that there would be no
patronage OF races. We believe the very
contrary to be the truth. What all true
lovers OF horses desire to see at race is
an honest contest between horses and not
a contest between the pool box and the
public. The inducement offered by the
chance TO bet at race draws the betting
class OF the community and tends to keep
away the classes who care for horses and
honest sport, but not for gambling. One
way in which this could be partially
accomplished. would be for the owners OF
fine and fast horses to refuse to let them
go in any race upon which pools were
sold on the ground, and we hope that
some Of Salt Lakes leading horSemen
will introduce this practice. Another
danger in the extreme West on race tracks
is the danger of ringers" The ringer"
may be described as an old turf hero
whose name is changed, and who is sent
away from the country where he is known
to 60 to a new one where he is unknown,
for the purpose of swindling people. We
believe there have been some such
in Salt Lake, and that they have
been represented as coming from
some OF the country towns. The
race course should be an auxiliary
to the breeding farms, and it should cre
ate generous rivalry between breeders
by offering colt and other stakes After
all, the first great interest in all races
should be the horses and not the betting,
and to them should be given the encour-
agement. Let the breeders make their
own stakes, and then they will have an
inducement to rear better horses, and let
them discourage the idea that races are
gotten up merely for the purposes OF the
pool box