Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1893-08-12
PIERRE LORILLARD
PHILIP DWYER.
JOHN A. NORRIS.
FONHAII KEENE.

FOXHALL KEENE. PHILIP DWYER.
creased three or four times The racing |
center is New York city, near which are |
located the four great tracks which belong |
to the board of control, body that at |
tempts, and in some measure succeeds, in |
making American racing rules as the |
Jockey club in England does for the United |
Kingdom. These four tracks are the Coney |
Island, the Gravesend, the Morris Park and |
the Monmouth.
All but the last named, which is in New |
Jersey, where betting on races is against
the law, are in New York, where betting |
under the Ives pool bill is permissible I'M
der certain conditions ut race tracks only.
The success of racing, as at present conduct
ed, depends upon the legal sanction to bet
on the result of the races. Upon I he theory
that the racing of horses tends to improve
their breeding and to stimulate efforts to
secure better stock many persons who are
bitterly opposed to ordinary forms of gam
bling think that gambling on horse races
should be tolerated by the law. 1t was
upon this theory that the Ives pool bill was
framed. This bill permits each racing as
ISOLATION to have 80 days racing between
the 18th of May and the 18th of October
every year. For many seasons past there
has been racing in the ncghbOrhoOd of
New York every week day between the
dates mentioned. The tracks have been
improved and magnificent grand stands
erected. Two of these, Morris park and
Monmouth park, are probably the largest
and most connexions in the world.
These racing associations made money
handsomely for several years, and so many
| men became bookmakcrs and hangers on
| that the six months season was too short.
| Therefore winter racing was begun in New
| Jersey, and for several years past during
Il the whole of the cold season, over frozen
ground, through snow and slush, the horses
have run, and crowds of people have gone
1 to see them. This has not been with the
i consent of the board of COutr ol but against
| its wishes and protests. The board has
| even gone so far as to bar horses that were
| raced on these winter tracks and to exclude
| also owners, jockeys and book makers. But
4 this has not sufiiccd to stop t he racing, and
1 the board of control could not 20 further,
i as one of the tracks represented in the
| board was racing without warrant Of law
| and il il more than suspected that the
| board was not confident that the court Of
Il appeals in New York would not declare the
| Ives pool bill unconstitutional if the qucs-
| ton should ever be brought up The board
| therefore had to make the best it could of
a bad business.
| Then again the poolrooms in the cities
have been kept open upon the prcteNt that
| they did onlya commission business. These
poOlrooms have not only tended 10 bring
4 racing into disrcpute because of the ease
with which boys and small wage earners
could gamble on the races, but they have
made it unnecessary for every one who
wished to bet on the races to go to the
AtrackS to do it. In the latter way they took
Nrevenue directly from the tracks. The con-
Nflict with the law, the increased number of
tracks, the city pOOlroOms and the doubt in
the public mind as to the integrity of the
contests have combined to decrease the
1 Nf 81.
persuaded that some, if not all, of the board
of control tracks lost money last year.
| This season, however, since Richard Gro
ker, the Tammany Hall chieftain, began his
turf career the New York poolrooms have
been closed with an iron hand, and despite
the fight made by Peter De Lacy and other
poolroom magnates, still remain closed.
The effect of this action has been to increase
the attendance at the tracks, and the differ
ent racing associations have consequently
| been more prosperous this season than they
| were last.
The other day had talk on this subject
| with an official of one of these tracks a
man who is specially well informed as to
racing past and present. He said: The
American people always go in their pleas
ureS and sports at too rapid gait. Once
trotting was in vogue; once every baseball
game would draw thousands of spectators
Now both of these have lost much of their
popularity-although there seems to be a
baseball revival this year-and it is the
same way with racing. l candidly believe
that the great vogue for racing is past and
that the reaction will be more seriously felt
next year. We have too much racing near
New York and also in Chicago and other
places. A real lover of racing cannot prob
ably have too much of it, nor can the gam
blers who live by it. But those who attend
race meetings purely for the love of the
sport are comparatively few, and the gam
blers or bookmakers contribute very little
, to the support of the sport. On the con
trary they are heavy tax on it, for they
take commissions just as the brokers do on
| the exchanges. While believe that the
1 generality of race horse owners are most
honorable men, there are others that are, to