The Washington times., 1907-11-03
BENNING
BOOBIES
REJOICE
Davis Decision Gratifies
Prospective Layers at
Washington Meet.


NEW YORK, Nov. 2.-Racing men are
ticlled TO death over the decision Of the
District OF Columbia Court of Appeals
to the effect that the case against VIII
liam Davis for bookmaking may be con-
tinued
This means that the bookmakers may
do business at Benning, and practically
assures a successful meeting. While, of
course. the whole purpose of horse rae
ing is to improve the breed OF horses, it
is incidentally a fact that a race meet
without the layer of odds is very much
Ike pork chops without salt
There will be a gO0dly attendance Of
regulars from the metropolitan tracks
for the Benning meet. which would not
have been the case had there been no
opportunity to pick winners.
There has been much complaint for a
week or two Of foul riding on the metro
rol.tan tracks. The stewards are 10
blame for this. The jockeys are boys
and anxious for the big rewards which
come with the riding OF winners They
realize when they can take liberties and
when not. and il is safe to say that
there has been more foul riding in the
last week or two than in the six weeks
preceding.
Disqualification are unsatisfactory,
but there were a number of cases in
which the boys could have been punish
ed without setting a horse back, and a
saIutary lesson taught. In the interest
of the sport these boys should be held
10 strict accountability.
The old question Of raising the scale
Of jockey weights is again 10 the fore.
It is given added interest just now by
the number of fine riders who have
been driven from the American turf by
the low scale
During the past decade America has
lost some of her most brilliant jockeys
because the weight scale here would
not allow them TO have more than an
occasional mount, and the consequence
has been that the riders were forced TO
seek their occupations and fortunes III
foreign cIimes
Amo"g these ere Danny Maher. the
greatest rider England has known since
Fred Archer's dav; Fred Tarai, Henry
Spencer, THE Iceman;" Nat Turner.
dead; Tommy Burns. Winnie O'Connor.
and a mast of other brilliant knights OF
the pigslsin.
It was not that these boys had out
lived their usefulness by any means. for
they went right over 10 England and
Europe, and all made successes.
Another brilliant rider whose davs in
the saddle are numbered Is Walter
Ter has taken on considerable weight.
until now he finds it impossible 10 ride
lighter than 1o2 pounds. A year ago or
so he could do ninety pounds. Jack
Martin, who is as good a horseman in
the saddle as one can find throughout
the country because of his weight
about 10 pounds-now only gets a mount
perhaps once OF twice a week. scarcely
enolgh to keep him in practice-Dave
Nicol is another Of our good riders
whose riding career is very limited, and
the same may be said Of Radtke and
Knapp.
II is rare these days for horse to be
in the money in two races the same. dav.
At Jamaica Tuesday Eugene WyIand
started ]. T. Donohue twice, in the sec
Ond race at a mile and a sixteenth. and
again in the fifth, where the route was
mile and a half.
The Cnondaga colt took second place
in the first effort. and third in the fifth
r race, but his manner Of finishing out in
the secon8 race was almost conclusive
evidence that had he been reserved for
the fifth alone he would have earned
brackets
]. F. DonOhue is the first runner to
try In two races on the same dav this
fall but such instances are not rare.
The cases Of ogden and Sydney Lucas
are notable in recent turf history.
The former. after two wears in re-
tircment, came back a good horse, and
uCu twice in an afternoon. once at six
fuSi'ngs, and later at a mile and a six
teen-h.
The most remarkable instance Of
stamina in the history Of the American
turf was that of John c. Stevens Black
Maria. long lifetime ago. In October,
1S52 Black Maria won race of four
mile heats over the Union course on
Long Island, in which I'VE heats were
necessary 10 achieve victory.
Over heavy track this wonderful
mare won the first heat. dead-heatod
the second, was second in the third
second in the fourth and won the fifth,
running a total distance Of twenty miles