The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-04-13
PADDOCKS BARRED TO
JOCKEYS FATHERS
Insist on Winning Mounts and
Become a Nuisance in
Many Ways.

Eastern racing officials and horsemen in
general weren't much surprised when
they heard the recent edict Of the Los
Angeles racing authorities ruling Jockey
Arthur Redfern and his. father-who had
been acting as the boys manager-off the
turf" said noted trainer of a stable at
Bennings. The boy was only the
ground for a few days before being re-
stored to standing, but it is hardly likely
that his dad-manager will get back to the
paddock and the scales room for some
time to come. The Eastern turf authori-
ties found the elder Redfern a pretty hot
and quarrelsome proposition to handle,
and they had to warn him several times
to withdraw himself little more out of
the limelight and be good. Nothing of a
crooked nature was ever charged against
him or against his son, who is a most &C
complished horseman. 1t was merely the
fathers peevish solicitude for the sue
cess of his son that kept the pair of
them in more or less constant trouble
with the turf authorities. A riding boy
who has for manager a father who is
himself a horseman is pretty liable to
get the worst of the break while that
business relationship lasts. The boy
dad is bound to regard his son as the
greatest straddler of pigskin that ever
pulled on a boot, and when the old man
works himself into this state of en-
thusiasm over the prowess of his progeny
he generally conceives a ferocious dislike
and jealousy of all the rest of the jockeys
in training.
If the boy is in such demand as to
enable his manager to have the pick
of mounts the ad-manager develops
into a veritable autocrat of the pad
dock, and rubbers around the barns
morning, noon and night trying to
pick out the horses that have the
them for his youngster TO ride, and
thereby fatten his winning average.
In his eagerness to light upon the
winners the old man will often half
boy will do the riding, and this sort
of thing makes all sorts of trouble. 1t
was what caused the Redferns to be
ruled off at Los Angeles The elder
Redfern had engaged his boy to ride
a horse named Laureate, but when
the saddling hour arrived he repudiated
the agreement and maintained that his
boy was to ride another horse. The
owner of Laureate protested, appealed to
the stewards. proved his case and the
jockey and his dad got the gate.
This question of the management of
Jockeys by their parents will l predict,
sooner or later receive the attention
of the high turf authorities of the East.
l happen to know that some time ago
it was under consideration to frame up a
rule prohibiting the fathers of jockeys to
act as the boys managers.
Down in New Orleans this winter
they Inaugural Jed a rule keeping the
jockeys Wallets out of the betting ring,
or even the grandstand, and combining
them exclusively to the paddock during
the running of the races. This was a
wise move, if only for the sake of the
additional confidence it gives the race
going public. Of course, in the case
of jobs, it is not essential for the
Jockeys valet to actually visit the betting
ring, but the presence of these lOrdly
swaggers near the stools of the book
makers on a big scale isn't calculated to
increase the public confidence in the
strict integrity of the jockeys employing
them.
In my opinion, the rule ought to be
stretched a little farther, so as to abso-
luteIy prohibit even bookmakeTs from
visiting paddocks. TheTe'd be a mighty
bleat from the price-layers if such a
thing should be seriously considered by
the turf authorities, but it ought to be
considered, all the same, and will be, 1
have no doubt in due time"