New-York tribune., 1908-06-15
COMMENT ON SPORTS
THE FUTURE OF RACING.
Nears and Tiescs of Current Topics,
Amateur and Professional.

~ che a5v.rsa hesitation at Albany. 1t seems
unfortunate that betting should be necessary
.5,,,c, 20 spch a wholesome and invigorating
snort and I am not entirely convinced tha' IL Is
tu the form considered essential up to TINS urle
although ii looks il popular interest Woulu
soon die without the opportunity to Individual
sze and localize a race by having wager, even
though a small one. on some particular morse
No sport can prosper with a policeman or de-
fective lowering bout ready to pounce GOWN
and make an arrest for what may or may not
ne 2 violation Of the law. and this is the prob
,e-, thar those in control Of the sport must
solve if racing is TO prosper il has in the last
Few wears or even be continued on a paying
basis When the new law has been construed og
the courts and what constitutes violation oen-
nitey settled it will remain for the various rae
ing association to that the law is observed
TO the letter and so protect their patrons against
what amounts TO police censorship, if not RAID
If this is done and il credit betting is permitted
under the new law the associations could raise
-he ,,rice of admission TO 81 and conduct racing
on the same high plane if not on the same high
scale. The overnight purses would have TO be
reduced from $1,000 to, say. $500, and the ADDED
money 10 the stakes cut in proportion. while
general expenses as 10 maintenance would have
TO come down: but the sport could live and the
breeding Industry he conserved. 5 there must
he quite enough persons interested in the racing
and breeding of thoroushbreds not bound 10 the
necessity of a wager to make this condition pos
sible II might develop into a rich mans sport
as yachting. and il might he deemed advisable
TO race only four days week instead Of six; but
this for the moment is beyond the question. In
the opinion Of some who have studied the ques-
ton closely the effort to make it popular sport
as an amusement Or spectacle 10y reducing the
admission 10 81 or 30 cents and putting on eight
races would fail. as men must have something
TO root" for. condition which the home team
at a baseball game provides. The Jockey Club
and the various racing associations may have
made some mistakes in the conduct of the sport
but this is hardly the time for recriminations
It must be remembered. however, that the sport
has grown and prospered under the generally
wise and able control of the Jockey Club. and
that the stewards men of standing. who will
insist that the Law construed by the courts
be observed while they making every effort
10 save the sport in this state from what the
more pessimistic believe be its death blow.
Men like James r. Keene. H. K. Knapp. Schuy-
ler L. Parsons, Francis r. Hitchcock, Herman
B. Duryea, Harry Payne Whitney, R. T. Wilson.
jr., and others can be depended on to do their
part and with the aid Of all true lovers of the
thoroughbred racing can be saved and Is far
from bang doomed.
There is no law against individual betting.
cept on a prizehght, so long the bet is not
recorded" were the words of well known law
yer at Gravesend on Saturday. who thus con-
strued the new statute. He continued by say
ing: If the courts should csnstrue the law
otherwise and rule that individual betting was
violation, the police force would have 10 be in
creased q hundredfold TO enforce IL 1t would be
necessary to have detective or policeman in
every billiard parlor and in every club: ten or
fifteen would have TO be assigned to every golf
course, fifty or hundred to every baseball game.
There is no bookmakng at these places but
there is no end of betting. There is no book
making going on here to-day, but arrests are
being made for individual betting and perhaps it
IS necessary until the courts have ruled but il
would not be tolerated on Z golf course or at
baseball game and persons, no matter how
much they enjoy racing as sport, will not con-
Jinue TO come if they are to be subjected COLI
unually TO such treatment / will be interested
10 see how big the crowd is on Monday" Many
Others are interested in seeing or hearing Just
how big the crowd viii be to-day. On Friday
and Saturday hundreds We're willing to pay the
price Of admission just to what happened
but the real test viii come this week.
The Suburban Handicap. Of S25.e0o will be
decided Friday, on the opening of the spring
meeting Of the Coney Island Jockey Club at
sheepshead Bay. and Suburban Handicap, one
Of the most talked Of races % the year without
betting will be like a Coney Island without the
''est Dog and merry -go-round. The race has
en- attraction, however peculiar TO itself and for
that reason good sized crowd is likely to be in
attendance-enough. perhaps help the Coney
Island Jockey Club tioe over what is almost sure
10 be unprofits bic meeting. 1t is hoped that
this NAV prove to be the case. as no association
has done more 10 elevate the sport and do every
thing possible for the welfare of the horseroen
and the comfort Of its pa irons. The big park
like inclosure has been wonderfully improved
since the meeting last fall at an outlay OF
$4,000 and the club is deserving of the CON
sideration that racegoers may give il. The field
for the Suburban is likely TO be a small one
made up in all probability Of James r. Keenes
Ballot and Cet, Fl. b. Duryea's Running Water
Samuel Emery's Master Robert. ]. L. McGinnis's
Frank Gill. f. r. Hitchcock's Dandelion Sam
Eildretll's Montgomery, August Belnont's Fair
Play, T. A. Forsythes Dorante and f L. jew
ett's Bedouin Royal Tourist King James,
Hessian. Salvidere RineInan, Beauclere and
TOurenne possibilities. but with the excep-
tion OF Hessian, they look like forlorn hopes
James r.. Keene has never won a Suburban
Handicap. but il looks II Of his turf am
bitions would he realized at last. with two such
horses Ballot and Celt 10 depend on, to say
nothing OF the unbeaten Colin which also Is ellg-
ible. Celt the Brooklyn Handicap IN i'm
pressive style. and Ballot qualified last week ia
way to stamp him equal 10 the task, that il
does not seem necessary to look beyond one o-
the other for the winner. Fair Play Running
Water and Master Robert must be accounted
dangerous, however. All three won their last
races in a way to indicate that they are quite
ready do battle for the coveted turf classic