The record-union., 1897-07-09
RUNNING MEETING ENDS.
ATTENDED BY SCARCELY A
CORPORAL'S GUARD.
Why the Public Take Little Inter-
est Nowadays in Race
Meetings.

The four days racing meeting at Ag-
riculturaI Park closed yesterday. The
attendance was very light, as it had
been throughout. The racing was fairly
good, but somehow the people do not
take much interest in horse racing ex-
Cept when conducted by regularly or
ganiZed associations of the highest re-
pute.
Another thing-the way racing is now
generally conducted it is understood to
be-except in rare cases-simply pool
box business, and no matter how fairly
the races may be run, the public pre-
fer to hold on to their dollars rather
than exchange them fer bits of paste
board very few of which are cashed
at the close of the race.
In short, the book method of pool
ing on races, at first so popular, has
been sadly overdone, and is rapidly
killing what was formerly rare and
exciting sport A decade or two ago
men went TO races to see their favorite
horses run, and they did not hesitate
to back them we'll Only in cases where
the runners We're young colts was the
distance ever less than a mile, while
tWo-mile races were common, and
rarely meeting passed without one
or more four-mile events.
In these days the distances are most
ly from a half to three-fourths of a
mile. The horses are started from
points across the field, where the peo
pie in the stands can scarcely see them.
There is a wave of flag, a shout,
There Off" and some of a group of
skates shoot by in a cloud Of dust.
The numbers of the first three horses
are hung up, the people consult their
score cards to see which were the trio,
and then settle down again to MUNICH
peanuts until the thing is repeated.
Time was when men came from far
distant towns or counties to witness
contests between horses with local or
State regulations and representing
well-known farms or certain strains of
blood, but such races are rare now
adays. 1t is simply gambling propo-
sition, and the races would be attended
by the same men and women if the
runners We're automatons made of pa
pier mache and worked by machinery.
1t has become simply a case of hav-
ing something on which to bet money.
Many former followers of the turf
declare that the present condition of
racing is the result of the book betting
evil, which has overshadowed every
track in the Union.
This evil does not so seriously affect
harness racing, but even in that field
it's promoters have been getting in
their work. to some extent by booking
the heats. The remedy will come
when the gaming element that now so
generally controls private race tracks
throughout the country shall have
finally killed the goose that laid the
golden eggs-killed it so dead that it
will not be able to f1utter. Then rae
ing may again be elevated to the plane
it occupied fifteen or twenty years
ago, and the breeding of high-class
thoroughbredS may once more become
the profitable business it was formerly.
But so long as bookselling combina-
tions, backed by wealthy men, continue
to manage the racing of the country by
having the horse owners in their
clutches, financially. so long will horse
racing fail to be the so-called sport
Of Kings" It will remain simply "the
graft of the sports"
The results of yesterdays races were
as follows:
First race, five-eighths of d mile,
Kitty Brady Won, Lost Girl second,
William OBJ third. Time-1:02.
Second race, seven-ei -eighths of a mile,
Joe K won, Fi-Fi second, La France
third. Time :29A.
Third race, five-eighths of mile, Nc
Farlane won, Iron Jacket second, De-
fender third. Time-1:03.
Fourth race, three-fourths of a mile,
Emma D. won, Lost Girl second, La
Flecha third. Time-1:15
Fifth race, three-fourths of a mile,
Santuzza won, Diabolito second, Trix
third Time-1 :o3I