Arizona republican., 1899-06-28
JOCKEY TOD SLOANE.

It is the fate of the majority of men
 who are prominently before the pub
 lie that much misconceptG0n hedges
 them about in respect of their oDin- ions and their sayings and doings, and Tod Sloane, the well known American | jockey, is no exception. Much that has been written of Tod Sloane should
 be taken with the aid of a whole sal cellars contents, while many soate-
 ments may be entirely rejected.
 Tod Sloane, for instance, the New York Advertiser asserts, does not re- side at the Hotel Cecil in a palatiaI suite, but in rooms on the first floor and in the west wing, which the. good sense of the proprietary has fitted up to suit the excellent taste of their patrons, which leans to unobtrusive oak upholstery and comfortable chintz covered furniture. Then, again, Tod Sloane is not more bedizened with jewelry than is conventfonally usual, while his sartorial habiliments call for no adverse criticism as to their num- Der, cut, or color That the Cecil is Tod Sloane's headquarters IS sufficient ly indicated by the little home touches which a score, of friends photographs and a few personal knickknacks inn part; and although a loaded revolver on the mantle shelf smacks somewhat of the states" it also may remind you of the Anglo-Saxon maxim that "a mans house is his caStle;' while couple of banjos and a guitar suggest very truly that the popular jockey is no mean performer on those instru- ments. In physique Tod Sloane is short and decidedly slight He scales no more than seven stone. and having no tendency to put on flesh, he can keep at that weight without wasting or special dieting As might be sup posed, he ic possessed of highly sens itive and nervous temperament. and, although devoid of any mortid super stitious beliefs, he-owns to a leaning to Fridays and the 18th of the month as days of good omen. As he is wont to say, q started for England the first time on the 18th of the month. which was a Friday; I rode five winners at Newmarket on another 18th; and though I set out on the 12th of a month, owing to fOgs we didn't set sail till the following day.
 Those who are intimate with Tod Sloane could tell you that his hetero- dOX position in riding is an elabOra- tiOn of that practiced by a well known American jockey, Henry Griffin a fiat racer anu SItGpIScudS0f- anu ludL He (SlOane) did not adopt it un:Il the autumn Of 1894. when he was in Cali fornia, and he first put 1t into practice at the meeting of the Bay District, a locality now laid out in building lots Tod Sloane does not invariably assume this horizontal position, although it is calculated that it gives a horse a seven-pOund advantage It depends on circumstances, for some horses stfOng- ly object to it. Nor does the jockey invariably make the running from the first; there are times when. with keen judgment, he hides a waiting race In short. Sloane rides with h:s head as well as with his hands, and an astuter head has seldom rested on a mans shoulders. By the way, he does not possess 9. boot with a spur to it; in deed, his general system is rather 10 hunOr a horse than to coerce tt, which may explain his frequent successes with currish mounts, which other jockeys have been known to refuse to ride.