The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-24
RETURN OF TOD SLOAN
AN INDIANA JOCKEY WHO MADE
BRITIsHERs OPEN THEIR EYES.
He Discusses His Racing and other
Experiences Abroad. and Says He
Is Glad to Get Back.

Is ~ OCl oaAtt%s
NEW YORK, Jan. 2S-Tod Sloan, of Ko-
komo Ind. the jockey who was so sue
cessful last year on the English turf, and
who arrived on the steamer Campania yes
terday says he is glad to get back to
America He IS SO enthusiastic over get
ting home again that for the last three
nights of his voyage he says that he did
not have an hours sleep, and when the
Campania reached her dock yesterday
morning he was the first of her passen-
gers TO trip down the gang plank. Instead
of the fifty trunks that some people had
been led to believe he would have with him,
filed with dress suits Prince -Alberts, cuta-
ways, top coats Trelawneys, parti-colored
.waistcoats flaring trousers, gloves, hats
boots and all the multitudinous habiliments
of a "Jubile Juggins,f this modest, unas-
Stunning, democratic little fellow had exact
ly two trunks and two hand bags, and
large part of the space in them was taken
UP with gifts he brought home for his
friends and relatives.
The Tod Sloan that landed from the Cam
pania yesterday was the same unaffected
youngster that went away only few
months ago to show his English cousins
the skill of American riders. He succeeded
in everything he attempted, but he made
not a particle of a fool of himself, and if
there really was marked result of his trip
abroad it was that he became more unas-
Stunning and democratic than ever before.
HI will not break with the Fleischmanns,
his American employers; he will not ride
for the Prince of Wales, and he still be-
leves this country the greatest in all the
world, whether for a diminutive jockey or
little gentleman, and he is a good deal of
both. He will remain in this city for a
week or so. Then he will make trip West
and South.
Into period of three months this little
ninety-five-pound man-"James Tod Sloan,'
as his visiting card describes him-has con-
densed more experience and sensation than
many man gets in lifetime. He has been
Kissed and hooted, cheered and praised by
the emotional race-course crowd He has
gambed at Monaco, flirted with the temp
tations of gay Paris, consorted with mobile
docks and markisses," his hands were near
ly blown off twice and columns of newspa-
per notices have been given to him on both
sides of the Atlantic. But from it all he
has come back full of well-digested ideas
OF transatlantic racing and with a clear
conscience of doing his duty by those who
have been his patrons in the past in this
country before he seeks new worlds to
conquer. Much of what he has done and
said already has been printed, but the mar
ratiVe he has to tell is still full of interest
alty.
In regard to his future movements Sloan
said: Il have never asked the Fleisch-
MAINS for a release from my contract to
ride for them during the coming season. l
through what | said that the late Mr..
Charles Fleischmann and his son, Mr..
julius, who is the present head of the firm,
determined to stay in racing after last sea-
son. They even asked my advice about a
trainer. Under no circumstances should
Ieel JuStlneu III asking Tor Il release. l
have made some arrangements about rid
ing in England in the future, but they
merely verbal [ have signed no contract
The understanding is that if / go TO Eng
land for the season of 1889 the stable of Mr.
Pierre Lorillard and Lord William Beres-
ford will have first call on my services, and
the same arrangement would have held
good had l gone over this season. / have
also made an arrangement about a second
call but do not care to state who the
rs there any foundation for the cabled
report, which was also published in the
London papers, that you were to ride for
the Prince of Wales?
None whatever The report entirely
due to the fact that Lord Marcus Beresford
who has entire control of the princes
horses, is brother of Lord William, for
whom | was riding | was in that way
brought into contact with Lord Marcus but
there was no talk of an engagement. rode
one horse for the prince but was not lucky
enough to meet him. He was obliged to go
away the day 1 rode and did not attend rae
ing again the rest of the season"
The actual figures of Sloan's perform
ances in England are remarkable. Not
getting there till late in October, he rode III
tifty-eight races of which he won twenty.
He was second nine times, third six times,
SO that in all he unplaeed only twenty
three times In this connection it must be
remembered that all the surroundings were
novel to him and that he was invariably
| riding over strange courses In actual fact
| he rode at twelve different race courses and
won one or more race at each.
What We're the conditions you found in
| England?" Sloan was asked.
Well he answered, lin the first place
| they race on the grass, which is in many
| ways better than our dirt tracks. There is
| none of the dust and dirt so common here
| You can ride half a dozen races there with
| out being obliged to wash your face Yet,
| the tracks there will get so heavy after a
storm that jockey will get as much mud
/ on him he would here
How do the American and English jock
| eys compare?'
! THE English jockeys are all finished rid
| erS. They ride differently from what they
| do here. Over there the Jockeys roll their
horses right in. They SIT up straight, and
| well back.
when I appeared on the tracks every
| body laughed at me. was well forward,
| in my usual position, and there they thought
| it was funny; They said looked like
| monkey, perched up where / was. 1t was
new to them and they could not understand
| 10 you mean, SlOdn was asked. that
| the English jockeys, taking them all to-
| gether are better than American jockeys?''
| Il would not like to say that" the little
| fellow protested. THE Jockeys over there
| are all finished riders
His listeners were at liberty to draw their
| own inference from the reply
THE style of riding is so different over
! there he went on. that I'm not certain
| fair comparison be made No horse
| can run as fast in England as here. The
! atmosphere is heavy over there that II
| uses horse up more to run there An
| American horse with good record will be
| much slower on the mile Why, we think
| nothing of running a horse in thirty or
| forty races here during a season. Yet if
| they run horse six, seven or eight races in
a season they think the horse has done a
| good seasons work
| our horses are bigger and quicker than
| theirs, but the English horses have more
| endurance. The horses there are smaller
| and lighter than the American horses |
| don't suppose there is an English horse on
| the turf as big as st. Cloud. If McCafferty
| should take his horses over to the other
| side, as have heard he intends to do, they
| will be looked upon over there as truck
| horses because of their size
What was the best track you rode on
! there?' one of the listeners was anxious to
! know.
Newmarket. got over there late in the
season and did not visit all Of them /
| IN a Dhpr pf fheip hazf frocf al