New-York tribune., 1908-04-20
nMMENT ON SPORTS
parING And BASEBALL.
c~rs and Vieacs on Current Topics,
4mafcm and Professional. -,

amateur and Professional. >,
.,o coming Of baseball and racing last
~, outdoor sporting season of 1908 can be
i - he fairly under way 1t can also be
4 8. 10, the outlook is particularly bright for
l So hard fight in both the American and the
l snol leagues. and plenty of brilliant and
l - .,ess racing II is cause for congratula-
l - ..st the Jockey Club and the various racing
l -io+ions have shown a disposition to make
l ,,n reforms in the conduct Of that sport
| - will place II on a higher plane than ever
", and make 1t less open to unfavorable
...isr, The betting reforms which have been
I ..r+ed are quite likely to exert a strong re-
i 's.,,vs influence on the speculative feature
!, due time should make for good There
sor,e who believe that more radical meas
-.sboulG be adopted. such as closing the field
a-.v snd making a fat rate of admission 10
= ,e-ts Of the track, and this may come in due
| .-s ~ the present plan does not accomplish the
,ose Something has been done. at least. to
-, that those who control the sport are sin
= IN their expressed desire to regulate and
s,,,urage so far possible the small bettors
| - cannot afford 10 go TO the track and the
| a. be+tors who by their plunges open the way
|, :. ,bat may appear sharp practice, even though
.,-. is not the faintest cause for sea ndal That
| We twenty thousand persons welcomed the
Il s.r-n OF the thoroughbreds in the face of such
| gensl weather conditions was proof enough of
sbst racing means to the sport loving public
/ the metropolitan district.
With the racing season only four days old
=, c-yjng need for a change in the rules of rae
-r pertaining to fouls and disqualifications has
4 -, suphasized once more. This is a subject
= which much has been said in this column and
i vil keep on referring to it often as oppor-
unity presents. or until such time as the rule
x changed. Noodoo. which did everything but
ro over the jumps in four and a half furlong
-soe On Thursday. interferred so badly with Fftz
rsbert in his erratic fight as to ruin that
cofs chances Of winning well as his own.
making il possible for Hoyle, the third best
horse in the race 10 win Eoodoo finished third
and while his disqualification would not have
affected the placing of F1tz Herbert with which
| he nterferred. the stewards had no option un-
Der the rule but 10 set him back, as he had dis
qualified himself. In all fairness he deserved
third money, and that unquestionably led to the
rosd Interpretation of the rule, but unfortu-
rstsly the rule is too plain to require any in
,srrretation and in fact, precludes the stewards
rom any action beyond deciding whether there
hsd been any Interference or not. There could
b. no question about this, and consequently the
rswar5s failed TO live up to both the letter and
TIE spirit of the rule. If the same stewards
vers in the stand all the time there would be
ause. perhaps. for no criticism. but the trouble
| & that another set OF stewards at some future
Meeting viii live up to the strict letter Of the
NE as has been done in the past. which makes
tv Inconsistency that should not be possible
Tie rule says:
morse or his Jockey jostle so as actually to
Ieoe aiHiaer horse. the aggressor Is disqualified.
- me ..lrded horse or his Jockey was partly
islt 0r the jostle was wholly caused by the
All OF some other horse or jockey.
Tie steward should have the authority of
-lige 70 pass on the merits Of the case and not
b confined 10 the authority Of jury to pass on
hs facts.
In commenting on the recent death of St
Snan The Duke of Portland's great racehorse.
English exchange says:
s. simou's influence on the thoroughbred IS in
lcla6ie Ills stock are found all over the world
| -eaaps no breed Of horses ever showed
a-Eed peoulatlues- They are not racehorses.
1-E are r@GinE machines, was once said Of his
--lL ~ MS daughters. though some Of them could
2 =, IKE lie w.ad Persimmon howeyer, was a
1-s1lers Won The oaks. al % them. with the
sIton 1 ia Fleche, belonging to the Duke Of
--aLl f1lS Derby winners the brothers
-ss-m-lon and Diamond Jubilee. There is no
g11s 70 the relative merits Of ST. Simon and Or
.onee ana II is q matter OF opinion which was
ls better horse Most people are agreed in re-
sI1lng them as Tie two best that ever lived. St
Sl1 was an irritable animal More than once
= -ad 10 be- muzzled. and some idea Of his tenn
-,e1ent may De Cleaned from the following
- which fl. from the lips Of his attendant G.
I.-laIl. m being questioned about his behavior:
lax ahoHf job. sir: Job never done a St Simon"
st Simon cost $4,000 as a two-year-old and
Vas uhbeaten. IN ten races in two years on the
llf earning some $4,000. In the stud, however.
hs averaged 100000 for several years. and
@rned more than 21.000,OOO in fees In nineteen
lesTs his stock won something over the huge
''al Of S2503-o00- His original stud fee was
'-'A but his success was so great that il was
-zfa 10 Ct Il subscription later for s250O. It is
sa-l NAT no other horse ever equa1ed his earn
1gs al the stud