Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-04
BOOKIES TO
BE BARRED
UP IN ARMS OVER
PRESENT CONDITIONS
DAvY JoHNsoNs RosEBEN HAS
BAD HABIT
SteepIechase Riders Come in for Ad-
verse Criticism and Jockeys Are
Openly Accused of Being
Crooked

NEW YORK, Aug "a moral wave
| Is sweeping over the turf at the present
time. This is not meant that the re
formers are on the warpath, but rather
that the governors of the sport of racing
here in the east are moving toward sew
eral changes in turf ethics on their own
initiative. For instance, the Jockey club
has intimated to the racing secretaries
of the several racing associations under
| it's jurisdiction to "discountenance the
entry to 1908 stakes and handicaps the
horses of professional gamblers and
| bookmakers." This indeed is a step in
the right direction. In the west a move
ment in Kentucky has debarred book
makers from racing horses.
In the middle west the fact of men like
Rome Respess, Ed Alvey and Fred Cook
carrying on a booking enterprise while
at the same time racing their horses has
been an unending source of scandal, for
disgruntled racegoers will always talk
after a bad day, whether circumstances
4 justify them or not. The same thing
| prevails in this locality, and 1t is pre-
| sumed that under the general caption of
| professional gamblers the bookmakers
| will be included. In fact, it is pretty
we'll understood that the day of the
| "bookmaker owner" has about waned.
| No bookmaker will be permitted to own.
horses within fhe near future. Such is
the talk in this section at the present
| time.
Behind the Jockey club manifesto is a
story of unsatisfactory racing on the
part Of one of the prime equine favorites
| of the last twenty years. This refers to
Roseben. The horse is owned by "Davy''
| Johnson, one of the best known gamblers
| and professional race track money oper-
ators in the world. Since the time john
| son promoted the Ocean Casino at Long
! Branch away back in the early days of
racing at Monmouth park, he has been
more or less a thorn in the side of tho
Jockey club His spectacular betting
and his closeness to certain big looking
Il interests and intimacy with certain star
race riders stood as a nightmare before
| the turf solons.
But the cap and climax came on the
opening day at Brighton Beach. That
was on a Monday The previous Satur-
/ day. at Sheepshead Bay, Roseben picked
up 140 pounds and stopped to a walk to
Dreamer. Roseben stood at to 5. Then
on the next Monday at Brighton Beach
the horse was asked to take up the same
impost of 140 pounds and to meet so high
a class mare as James r. Keene's Suf-
frage. Naturally, Roseben stood at as
good as to 1. To the dismay and dis
gust of almost everybody Roseben just
] tin cans home an easy winner in the fast
time of 1:12 for the three-quarters of a
mile. 1t was shocking form of re-
versal; but what makes 1t more emphatic
is the fact that some one having backed
Roseben at the last moment from eights
to II to 5.
OF course, everybody Is wondering
whether or not the Jockey clubs new rul-
ing is hit at Johnson. OF course, there
are many bookmakers who are racing
horses, for on the last day at Sheepshead
| Bays meeting Bookmaker AL Stokes
Banker showed form somersaut which
startled the public. That enforcement of
the bookmaking and the horse owning in
terests would be a good thing for the turf
is undeniable. Many powerful factors in
racing would be affected, including Lu-
cien Appleby Billy Dubois. David John
son, Emil Herr, L. A. Celia and Barney
4 Schreiber
The steeplechase fraternity - Jockeys,
trainers owners, horses and betting ring
connections-continue to agitate the Sc
rene surface of metropolitan racing. 'The
1 rawest. things ever pulled off on a SPORT
ing public in this country" is how a well
known local critic lambasts the steeple-
chases now being run. AS a matter of
fact the general public believes that four
out of five jumping races are fixed. In
this connection funny thing cropped UP
recently
| a We'll KNOWN SteeplecnaSe rl0er was
| discovered at the Hotel Belmont, living in
luxurious apartments. This boy receives
| a salary of $50 a week as retainer from
| a Philadelphia owner, and in winning and
| losing mounts his income cannot amount
to over $100 week. Still his suite and
maintenance at New York's latest hotel
palace aggregate much more than that
amount per week. Now, where does he
get it? The only missing link in the chain
of evidence was the absence of some
struting bookmaker down in the corridor
awaiting Mr.. Jockeys first morning APP
pearance. Then some more and some
more.
Mr.. Steeplechase Rider can buy more
| wine when he thinks no one is looking
than did Mike Dwyer in his halcyon
sporting days. The local papers made
much of the incident. AS result the gaze
| of all racegoers is upon the effete rider
every time he is astride Just now. OF
course, we all remember the gigantic
ring which engineered the first past
| the post races at New Orleans five years
ago. The way Ellison, Penn, Mcleod.
Brazil, rounded up things is history which
will remain green in memory as long as
the present generation of racing people
remains on the upper side of this mum
dane sphere.
! 1t was brazen piece of turf trickery
to be sure. but hear what g. man who
went all through that winters campaign
at New Orleans, La, has to say about
the steeplechase situation here in the east
at the present time: How the New York
people can submit to the f1imfiamming
they are receiving at the hands of these
steeplechase pirates is passing strange.
| According to one current story three of
the foremost Jockeys a steeplechase
owner, a trainer and a well known
| plunger are banded together and they are
enriching themselves at the public loss
by putting up occasional 'shoo in" races.
The tolerance of the steeplechase trick
cry is hurting racing more than all the
reformers put together, and unless it is
checked within the next year scandal
which will shake the turf structure to its
foundation may develop. The trouble
seems to be with the half-hearted admin
istration of incompetent stewards. These
stewards are complimentary. They are
members of the National Hunt and Stee-
plechase association and are often select
/ ed ten minutes before a race, the regular