The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-06-20
A FEUD OF THE TURF.
HOW WHITNEY AND KEENE POUR
OUT DOLLARS LIKE WATER.

ANO ACAiluNky lCuu rs HlOIt DllltT
than the turf vendetta between the
Whitneys and the Keenes. father and
son on each side. Just at this moment
William c. Whitney and Harry Payne
Whitney have James r, Keene and
Foxhal Keene wondering what to do
next, for. rudely speaking, they have
the enemy skinned to death" Mr..
Whitney carried of the big prizes of
the turf; Mr.. Keene tries for them in
vain. Mr.. Whitney buys his horses;
Mr.. Keene breeds his. Mr.. Whitney
admires horses for their speed; Mr..
Keene loves horses because they are
horses. Mr.. Keene's chagrin at con-
tinued defeat is deep. for not only is
his arch enemy of the Street trium-
plant, but the racers he lovingly rears
fail to reward him for the time and
money spent on them
The fighting is, of course, really be-
tween the elders. mighty men Of Wall
street. with many millions to spend.
as they please. Nevertheless, the cause
has descended to the sons, and will go
down to generations yet unborn.
Mr.. Whitney and Mr.. Keene are men
of great ability and big brain. Their
rivalry is honorable. They battled first
in Wall street and the war spread to
the turf. 1t is much bitterer on the
track. for to be humbled there is in
the eye of thousands. 1t hurts more
than a money loss. The Keenes and
the Whitneys have been after each
other with their horses for three years.
Their first trial of strength was in
the running of the Futurity of 1890.
The First Battle.
Both men had set their hearts on
winning that valuable event. Mr.. Keene
started three youngsters-Olympian.
Tommy Atkins and Cap and Bells. Mr..
Whitney relied on Ballyhoo Bey,
maiden held in reserve for this partic-
ular race. Keene secured three of the
best Jockeys in America to pilot his
representatives. Mr.. Whitney sent
across the ocean for Tod Sloan to come
over and ride Ballyhoo Bey. In order
to make 1t an object to the great lit
tie jockey, he offered him $1,000. win
or lose. Ballyhoo Bey won, with
Olympian second.
Mr.. Keene set his strong jaws, smoth-
cred his deep disappointment, and
made his plans to win the Whitney
laurels in the Flatbush stakes. Bally-
hoo and Tommy Atkins were again
pitted.
he HORSES met on even leTII1S III re-
gard to weight; they had defeated the
best colts in training and were OBJ
viously the leaders in the entries. 1t
was anybody's race, thought many.
Tommy Atkins had strong following,
and the Whitney crowd was sanguine.
Both sides put out their money.
1t was in this race that the public
had it's first taste of the fighting quail
itics of the two men on the turf. The
bitterness of the contest appeared TO
have infected horses and jockeys. This
struggle was terrific. Tommy Atkins
was thrown to his knees and the
Whitney colt was severely cut. Baby
hoo Bey won only by a short head.
There was foul riding in the race, but
the responsibility could not be fixed.
for there was evidently no intentional
error.
Young FOxhau in n Rage.
Foxhall Keene was white with rage
when a claim of foul against the win
ner was not allowed. He ordered his
horses away from the track Right
here among the spectators the Keene
and Whitney factions were formed.
and they are yet demonstratively ex-
istent and also most loyal to one house
or the other.
The Whitneys were jubilant at the
performance of BaIlyhoo Bey, and to
rub in his second defeat of Mr.. Keene
Mr.. Whitney offered to race Ballyhoo
Bey against Tommy Atkins under the
same conditions that governed the
Flatbush stakes just as soon as his
animal had recovered from his hurts
The money-any sum Mr.. Keene pleas
ed to race for-was to go to charity
The challenge was ignored, although
1t must have driven MIR. Keene to the
limits of anger.
In the season of 1901 Mr.. Keene sent
his stable from Sheepshead Bay d.
rect to the home farm at Brookdale,
n. j.. skipping the Saratoga meeting.
where Mr.. Whitney had come into con-
troll of the track. His excuse for not
appearing at the spa, where his coll
ors had not been absent for many
years, was that his horses were cough
ing. Their malady must have been
mild, for, with the close Of the Sara
toga meeting, they returned to Sleeps
head Bay, where they won a number
of races.
The rich stakes offered at Saratoga
tempted Mr.. Keene there last year.
His filly Dazzling went In for the
Special Prize, and here once more his
hopes were high. In the running
Dazzling was carried. wide and ham,
pered by Tommy Burns on Mr.. Whit
ney's Gfrdle, and out of the melee
Harry Payne, Whitney's Irish Lad,
came with flying colors and beat Daz-
zling home in a drive.
Almost Came TO Blows.
Feeling was SO high over this event
that James Rowe, trainer for the |
Keenes, and John Il. Madden. both fa- |
nous in their vocations, almost came
to blows. 1t was necessary to keep |
them apart. Mr.. Keene soon took his |
horses away from the track.
The war was shifted to the Street |
last spring, where the bitterness be- |
tween the two men was intensified. |
Back it went to the race track at the |
Morris Park meeting in a race that |
was practically a match between Mr.. !
Whitney's Leonidas and Mr. Keene's |
Palmbearer. It was when Leonidas |
passed Palmbearer and beat him out |
that Harry Payne Whitney, who was |
sitting with his father, jumped to his |
feet and yelled exultantly. His inten- |
sity was almost savage.
There have been mapy minor in |
stances when the two stables have bat |
tied fierceiy for the purse and glory, |
principally for the laurel, since neither |
Mr.. Whitney nor Mr.. Keene cares a
rap for his winnings on the turf. In |
deed, with all the money they carry |
away their stable account is all on the |
wrong side Of the ledger. They repre-
sent In it's fullest sense the old-fash-
Toned idea-the gentleman's idea-of |
racing, In which glory Is everything
and money Is nothing.
Mr.. Keene has been n patron Of the /
turf for nearly thirty years. He Is
vice chairman Of the Jockey Club and