Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-16
RACING, IN EUROPE

do you knew that there are several cases
on record OF, Fench chaps of high degree
blowing their heads on or chucking them
selves into the Seine because their race
horses were beaten in big French stake
events?" said "a weli-known American
trainer who has been operating on the
French and English turf for several years.
and who was in Washington over Sunday to
look at strfngoof horses being wintered at
the Benning track. 81 was told of a num-
Der OF such cases by reliable men while
was training, horses in France. The fell
lows who killed themselves weren't all in or
'roo-ined.' as;the stage gamblers who curse
the cards say. but just because they couldn't
horses they tossed themselves over the big
divide. You wouldn't catch an American
morse owner doing that. There are plenty
OF owners in this country who. time and
again, nave had every dollar they owned,
up In the tens and even the hundreds of
thousands of dollars, depending upon the
success OF their stars in big American turf
mixtures. When their horses also ran. they
grtnned. and went back to rubbering' at
the yearlings, to see II they couldn't pick
out a better one.
"Frenchmen have even been known to
fight duels, or the things they call duels
There was duel of that sort In Paris three
summers ago between couple of silly
young French sweils with handles to their
names. .fa@c
"At the time It occurred the duel was said
TO be over political dispute, but It wasn't
II was about which of them had the better
three-year-old race horse.
Each of them had a pretty good horse
Inc horses had met in races four times
and each had beaten the other twice. The
two young bucks got to arguing at club
about how good their horses were.- Each
fellow claimed that his horse would tow
rome the other IA ant Cd
hot
FINALLY. one of them, looking real devil
ism. took the orchid out OF his buttonhole
and tossed 1t Into. the others face.
This could mean but one thing in
trance-blood. The duel was solemnly ar
ranged. The fact that the duel was about
TO come or got into the Paris papers 1t
was declared that one of the duelists was
a monarchist and the other a republican.
and that the about-to-happen duel was tho
outcome of a growl between them over
their respective politics. But the horsemen
knew what 1t was about.
Before the duel came off, I heard an
American horse owner in Paris say, in a
puzzled sort of way. Why don't they run
their horses against each other, and have
1t out that way, instead of scratching each
other up with swords?'
'Fhe American horse owner didn't under
stand that the thing had gone too far for
that.the tossing of the orchid screeched
for blood. and blood Just nachully had to
be shed.
"The duel came Off in a Paris suburb all
right, and one of the chaps was spanked on
the pulse with the Others rapier SO that
the blood came-ail Of four or five drops
OF sure-enough red blood
Then they Rugged each other, and It
was all right. They decided, after honor
had been satisfied In this way, to run their
horses against each other and find out
when had the better one. Match races are
forbidden In French turf law, and 30 the
TWO horses were privately raced a mile and
q quarter against each other during the
forenoon. with only few friends of each
owner TO look on. The race was a dead
heat. But one OF the owners refused to he
lieve that itowas a dead heat. and swore
that his horse had won by a suout
more argument. Another duel arranged
Ihey got together with rapiers again the
next morning, and this time the other one
got cute little poke underneath his nrettv
ruined Shirt They Rugged again. That
day they disposed Of their horses over
which they'd clashed, SO that there'd be
NO no turner room for dispute. and they could
these Frenchmen, when they get real
mussy 2fa5 !
The English race-following folks are the
naroese losers | ever saw. You never hear
when an outside priced horse comes along
about his business and wins a big race
through sheer courage. They take q thing
IKE that q whole lot gioomily on an Eng
the favorite to win q big race such as the
Derby or the Prince of Wales Stakes or
the Gold Cup or the st. Eeger or Oaks and
when the yfavorite fails to cop the silence
IN the crowd as the winners number goes
up Is deadly. They shake their heads over
1t and mutter lot. When Mr. Keenes
good horse. Disguise II. won his fine 10, 600
guinea race In as fair style as you ever
saw horse win you could have beard the
crackle of a peanut shell In the crowd at a
distance Of twenty feet. They puckered
their faces into sour looks and turned away
from the number-board with never a word
of praise for the horse that came from he
hind. under the mastery ride of an Amer
lean jockey. and won his race, after holding
on through the stretch like bull dog by
face on the wire.
There may have been some excuse for
this. because Disguise II was an American
horse; but it's the same when one of their
own English horses, that figures as a big
favorite. is downed. In this country when
a horse that has been overlooked In the
betting shoots out of the bunch in the
stretch and by fine nervy effort nails a
swell race On the tape by nostril, the
bunch In the grand stand just rise to that
horse and his rider and give the winner the
happy YELL whether they've bet on the
favorite or some other horse or not; but
the English don't. They look as II some
body had handed them a personally con-
Quoted kick.
AFTER spending four years over there
It's comfort to come back for bit and
see what swell losers the Americans are
by comparison. I WAS down in New Orleans
the other day when Sam FIildreff's good
mare Witfull. was beaten IN the mud by q
couple Of horses IN a stake race. Hildreth
confidently expected his mare to win the
race, and went 10 her for thousands at the
short price. When the race was over Hill
dreth turned to the owner of Little Scout.
the winner, shook hands with him and said:
THAT'S a blooming good licking you've
given me. You've got good nag. I
wouldn't mind having him in my barn
II never heard an English owner say as
neat a thing as that after a wallopirg to
the owner of the victorious horse during all
the time I was on the other side. But 1
heard plenty of them say. sourly. to the
winning owners that the race hadn't been
truly run or something Of that sort"
WITHOUT A STAIRWAY.