The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-12-16
HORSEME len OPPOSED
TO THE WIND SHIELDS
Opinion Undergoing a Change
Respecting Records Made
with Their Aid.
RACE MARKS BELITTLED
New York THURMAN Says Practice
Will Destroy Value of All
Records.
MARKS BELITTLED

NEW YORK. Dec. 15.-with the harness
recing campaign ended. the auction sales
over for the year and the Speedway alter
nately sheeted with snow and covered with
mud, local votaries of trotting have found
little to interest them lately excepting dis
cussion Of the question as TO what is likely
to be the outcome of the controversy con-
corning the validity Of wind shield records.
Four of the fastest performances made
by harness horses hang In the balance and
the final decision of the turf authorities
will determine officially whether the two
minute trotter has or has not yet arrived.
The board of review of the National Trot-
ting Association having passed the matter
on to the American Trotting Register AS
ISOLATION for decision, after merely entering
an implied protest against trotting and
pacing performances made in the wake of
before the board of censors, of the Register
Association, unless sooner disposed of in
another way. The board of censors is made
up of w. p Ijams. of Terre Haute; F. S;
Gorton, of Chicago, and W.. c. Brown, OF
New York. 1t is the province OF this board
to decide all disputes concerning pedigrees
and records for registration purposes.
Should the censorS decide to accept the
wind shield performances made by Lou Dill
lon, Major Delmar. Dan Patch and Prince
Alert and publish them In the official year
DOOh Va tlOttlil6 dlQ pdCllS VII oA tq0dAAN
with records made in the usual manner,
there could be no appeal from their decision
under the rules.
If the board of censors of the Register
Association should, on the other hand. re-
Ject the performances and throw them out
as irregular, the matter would then come
made UP of the presidents of the Register
Association CIV. r. Allen), the National
Trotting Association Up. p. Johnston) and
the American T~rotting Association CIV. p.
Ijams.)
That public opinion in the horse world
has undergone and is now undergoing a
change respecting the merits and the
the aid of q wind shield is we'll known.
All horsemen now recognize that the run
ner In front Is q material help to the horse
trotting In its wake, as 1t were, and the
honly point in controversy at present is as
10 whether performances made Under these
unusual conditions" as the Board OF Re-
view has expressed it, should go into the
ularly made.
A PROMINENT HORSEMAN'S VIEWS.
Inquiry among prominent New York
horsemen reveals no little feeling against
the acceptance of the wind shield perform
ances. but for various reasons few of these
horsemen will talk for publication.
Don't quote my name" said one of them,
because some people will say I'm a sore
uCdu IL YOU QO, Out IL QOeSn L Seem me
to be fair or for the best interests of the
sport to allow these wind shield records,
and / will tell you why.
I'm the first place. a horse ~trotting
against time with a runner just in front
of him can go so much faster-four or five
seconds, sure-than he can go in a race
that If this new practice is permitted it
will simply create a gulf between race rec
ords and time records, and will make the
best performances look like the worst and
the worst look like the best.
~ -ftt
a record as indicating the speed of a horse,
because some will get their marks In races
and others will get them in trials against
n tune with h,n the sn aid OF a wind shield anl
may distinguish them In the official year
book. but you can't do 1t In the public
prints.
Under ordinary conditions the trotter
going against time has very little advantage
over winning a heat in a race. Give him
a wine shield, however, and he has an
race horse and will have more when they
get this thing down to a fine point. Is it
policy. is it fair. to belittle the race horse
and the race record In this way?
Suppose the authorities reject the wind
shield records and pass a rule at the con-
gress to be held in February prohibiting
such performances In the future; who
of about half a dozen horses that made
their records In this way last season.
And believe every horse in the lot is
and make q record in the usual manner,
so that nobody, in reality. would be in
jured If the wind shield performances were
thrown out.
'On the other hand, what would be the
consequence of admitting these perform
ances to the records and leaving the door
open for further improvements? If this
is done we may look to see some horse beat
the worlds record next year by trotting in
the wake of an automobile built with a
great hood over it, to shield him from the
natural resistance of the atmosphere"
1t seems to be the general belief among
horsemen that the wind shield perform
ances are so close to the line in the matter
of complying with or violating the rules
of harness racing that the turf authorities
can find grounds for either accepting or
rejecting them.