Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1893-08-13


! 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 attempts, and In some measure
succeeds, in making American racing
! rules as the Jockey club Ia 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 10 New YORK,
where betting under the Ives pool bill
is permissible under certain conditions
at race tracks only. The success OF
racing, as at present conducted, depends
upon the local sanction to bet on the re
suit of the races. GUpon tho theory that
| the racing OF horses tends to improve
! their breeding and 10 stimulate efforts
TO secure better stock many persons
who are bitterly opposed to ordinary
| forms of gambling think that gambling
on horse races should be tolerated by
| the law 1t was upon this theory that
| tEA~IGes pool bill was framed. This oill
! permits each racing association TO have
/ 80 DAYS racing between the 18th OF May
and the 18th of October every year.
| For many seasons past there has oeeh
racing In the neighborhood OF New YORK
every week day between the dates men
| toned. The tracks have been Improves
|
Two of these, Morris park and Mon
mouth park, are probably the largest
| and most commodious in the world.
These racing associations made money
handsomely for several years, and so
| many men became bookmakers ana
hangers-on that the six months season
was too short. Therefore winter rae
] ing was begun in New Jersey, and for
several years past during the whole OF
the cold season, over frozen ground,
through snow and sIush, the horses
have run, and crowds OF people have
gone to see them. This has not been
with the consent OF the Board Of Con.
| troll, but against its wishes and pro-
tests. The Board has even gone
so far as TO bar horses that were
raced on these witer tracks and TO ex-
| clude also owners, jockeys and book
makers. But this has not sutticed to
stop the racing, and the board OF con
troll could not 90 further, as one Of the
| tracks represented In the board was rae
ing without warrant Of law, and it is
more than suspected that the board
was not confident that the court OF ap-
| Deals In New York would not declare
| The Ives pool unconstitutional IL the
question should ever be brought up
| The board therefore had TO make the
best il could Of bad business.
Then again the pool rooms In the
cities have been kept open upon the
pretext that they did only commission
| business. These pool rooms have not
only tended to bring racing into dis
repute because Of the ease with which
| bows and small wage earners could
gamble on the races, but they have
made IL unnecessary for everyone who
wished to bet on the races TO go TO the
tracks to do il. Iu the latter way they
took revenue directly from the tracks.
The conflict with the law, the increased
number OF tracks, the city poorooms
and the doubt in the public mind as to
the integrity Of the contests have COM
bIned to decrease the profits of the as
sociations, Indeed | am persuaded
that some, II not all, of the. board OF
board of control tracts lost money last
year.
This season, however, since Richard
Croker, the Tammany Hall chleftain,
began his turf career, the New York
nooIrooms have been closed with an iron
hand, aud despite the fight made by
Peter De Lacy and other poolrOom mag
mates, still remain closed. The effect
of this action has been to increase the
attendance at the tracks, and the dii-
ferent racing associations have conse-
gently been more prosperous this season
than they were last.
The other day had talk on the SUBJ
iect with az official OF one OF these
tracks, man who Is specially well In
formed as 10 racing past and present.
He said: 1.-THE American people always
90 in their pleasures and sports at too
rand a gait. Once trotting was In vogue;
once every base ball game would draw
thousands of spectators. Now both Of
these have lost much OF their popular
II
ity-although there seems to be base
bail revival this year-snd tits the same
way with rscin7. 1 candidly believe
that the great vogue for rae
ing is past and that the reac-
ion 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 probably have too much OF il,
nor can the gamblers who live by II.
But those who attend race meetings
purely for the love OF the sport are CON-
paratlvely few, and the gamblers OF
| boOkmakers contribute very little TO the
support OF the sport. On the contrary
they are heavy tax on Il, for they
take commissions just as the brokers do
on the exchanges While l be-
lieve that the generality OF race
b&e owners are most honorable
M there are others that are, e
sal las least unduly tricky. Too often