The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-01-21
MANY RACE STARTERS
HAVE TOO MUCH TO SAY
Czarlike Attitude, When Mistakes
Are Made, Causes Much
Comment.
RECALL JOCKEYS CASE
Riders, Whether at Fault or Not,
Have Always Held to Be in
the Wrong.
RECALL JOCKEYS CASE

SAN FRANCISCO, Cal. Jan. GA ques-
ton that is at present agitating the minds
of many California racegoers is, What
should be the power vested in a starter OF
a field of horses? At present, either under
the rules by long custom, the starter
holds position on the track which is al
most czarlike in its prerogatives. a starter
can set boy down or fine him heavily and
there is no recourse for the jockey, whether
he is innocent or guilty.
1t is simply case of the starter being a
party TO the error made and then passing
judgment as to the guilt of himself or the
jockey. 1t is plain that If bad start is
made the responsibility lies distinctly be-
tween the starter and the offending jockey
or jockeys.
higher his reputation as wielder of the
flag the more anxious he is to maintain il.
If start is spoiled by a horse wheeling or
pumping into others or through any other
cause the most cons cientiOus starter in the
world would be only too prone TO fix the
blame of the bad start on the head Of the
luckless jockey astride the offending horse.
The starter is naturally straining every
nerve 10 make a good break and when one
or more horses spoil the start what is more
natural than TO punish the jockey for what,
after all, may be the starters mistake?
1t must be conceded right here that in
most cases the boy is no doubt to blame and
where Is his recourse? Under the present
system he has none whatever. Where there
Is foul at the finishing line or anywhere
else on the journey there the jockey has the
privilege of going into the judges stand,
pleading his cause and stating his case and
the officials take cognizance thereof. But If
the trouble happens as the horses are sent
away he has TO take his medicine in silence,
the verdict of the starter being final and be-
yOnd recall.
The starter is thus delegated with more
10 ildp
der the new California Jockey Club rules
the duties of the judges simply TO place
the horses as they pass the line. Questions
of fouling and other details in a disputed
case are passed up to the board OF stewards
for judicial action. But when the starter
has issued his fiat neither judges nor stew
ards have aught TO say in the matter.
This does not seem fair to a boy earning
his living by riding horses. He may be
on some intractable beast, of which many
are daily allowed to go TO the barrier and
the spoiled start may be the horses fault
and not the Jockeys. But the first impulse
of a starter, be he ever so fair-minded, is
naturally to visit the punishment on the
head of the boy on the horse. There Is no
starting judge there TO decide between the
starter and the jockey, and the latter occu-
pies exactly the position of the prisoner
being tried by the arresting policeman
acting as judge.
These comments are called forth by the
recent setting down for ten days of Jockey
Hildebrand. This boy was on a horse
name Flea. and the result proved that the
Flea had better have been on the boy than
the boy on the Flea. The latter horse
spoiled good start and Starter Hoffman
set Hildebrand on terra firma at very
critical time in the Jockeys contest for the
Eratt gold-mounted whip. Hiidebrand had
the whip as good as won, and no doubt lost
1t to Tommy Burns through being set
down.
In the meantime other boys got on Flea,
the latter proving irritating to his new
riders as the horses namesake is on the
human hide. Realizing that he had made
a mistake, Hoffman reinstated Hildebrand
before his sentence had expired, but too
late to save the trophy of the coveted whip.
That either Jake Hoffman or Dick Dwyer
would consciously wrong a saddle artist no
racegoer in the country believes, but they
are only humans, and such are subject
to error No doubt both would hail with
delight the appointment of a starting judge
10 arD1trate matters, thus relieving them
OF great responsibility without in the
least curtailing their usefulness 1t would
take from their shoulders the misery of
listening to the pleadings of a Jockeys rel
ativeS and friends, who at once interest
themselves in deposed rider. All such
could be passed up to the starting Judge
who would have to listen to and pass on
the case.
As for assistant starters that hold horses
by the head, they should be dispensed with
altogether. a horse thus held cannot get
fair start and a horse that will not
willingly face the barrier should be
schooled until he will do so. He is supposed
TO recite at the tape and not study his
lesson there 1T took many years and much
newspaper drilling TO abolish the trouble
some recall flag and il is time that the
assistant starter departed and the starting
judge arrived.