davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-16

move from their state to New Orleans.
and this consideration certainly served to
mitigate certain high handedness with
which the California turf authorities
always have treated horsemen. especially
horsemen from the Atlantic coast
with New Orleans blotted from the
winter racing map. the California track
bosses will be enabled to do just about
as they please In their treatment of turf
men who have to race out there during
the winter or not race at all: and this is
consideration that is causing a lot or
solid owners to think pretty seriously.
1T costs $1,000 a carload to ship race
horses out to California. and the ex-
penses Of caring for a string on the slope
are always heavier than anywhere else
for some reason that has never been salts
factorily explained to me, and l reckon
there will be lot Of hOrseowners VINO
will pull their cowlicks a long time be-
fore they will decide to poke trainload
OF horses out to the Pacific coast with
these considerations in mind.
Just now there are lot or rumors
abouts the likelihood Of there being VIM
ter racing in the West Indies. 1 never
pay much attention to this kind Of talk:
which always begins about this season or
the year. Just now the talk is that maybe
there'll be winter meeting at Jamaica:
I'd be willing to lay 10 to l that there II
regular in a hundred who'd go to Jamaica
or any place like it to take in winter
race meeting, and the fact mas peen
proven over and over again that without
the support of racing's army Of regulars
the sport simply cannot go on. I'd like
to know how the tracks around New York
would have weathered the storm around
here since last spring II 1t hadn't been 1or
the games army Of regulars. the fellows
who are so often referred to as crooks
and blacklegs They stuck around through
all of the trouble, and most Of them are
sticking around yet with kind of loyalty
for which they aren't getting half enough
credit. But they wouldn't go to Jamaica
to see the best racing that ever was. Rae
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-16

bookmaking system and going to the
courts for an adjudication as to the oral
system Of betting. but I doubt II they'll
take such a chance. The anti-racing
termined crowd than the anti-racing peo-
pie in New York and they'll fight to the
last ditch to have the legislative enact
ment against race track betting enforced.
THE present situation down there Is q
fine example of how q game In which the
public Is interested can be Grabbed by the
greediness and quarrelsomeness of its ex-
ploiters. They raced in New Orleans for
more than a hundred years. without COM
plant on the part Of anybody. and the
game was looked upon with almost as
much Indulgence, not to say considera-
ton. in Louisiana as it is at the present
time in France. Then the rivalries
sprang up. and the projectors OF the diff
ferent tracks fell to fighting each other.
and scandal resulted. and then the anti
racing crowd had the chance 1t was
waiting for. The people backing the two
main tracks refused to get together and
cooperate on compromise basis until 1t
was too late. Then. to cap the climax. a
pack Of turf outcasts started that vile
Sunday track just outside Of New Orleans.
That was the finish. 1t gave the reform
ers their chance to dilate upon how the
Sabbath was being made unholy by the
racing people. and it was the thing that
had the greatest weight in inducing the
Louisiana legislature to frame laws ad-
verse to racing. It was repetition OF
the thing that happened in Chicago when
rival exploiters Of race track properties
fell to scrapping among themselves. and.
in fact. some Of the very men who de-
stroyed racing in Chicago. the second rae
ing center in the United States. put the
wheels under the game down in New Or
leans From the very hour that these
men bulged into the New Orleans racing
situation 1t looked f1rst-rate even money
bet to me that they'd ruin the racing at
that important point-of almost indis-
pensable Importance to the poorer class
Of horse owners-and that's exactly what
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-16

| ing men, somehow or another. have an
aversion to leaving the mainland They'll
travel nearly 1000 miles overland to Call
fornia to take in the winter game out
| that way. but whenever you suggest to a
group of racing regulars that there d be a
| lot of fun in 1t if there was winter racing
| in Havana. for example. they begin to
| boot. and it is perfectly patent that only a
| handful OF them would take in such 4
meeting.
For years and years turfmen have
been poking around. odd times. down in
Havana. with the idea of fixing up a
winter racing game i'm that important win
ter town. But they've never been able to
see their way. Eddie Burke put in a
good part of last winter in Havana. try
ing to make himself believe that he'd get
out with dime left of his bankroll If he
started winter track there. but at length
| he gave the thought up. He told me that
the grafters down there demanded about
80 per cent of the rakedown for their bit.
and they wanted ii. in advance for
period of about hu y ed years. too.
Every time he went at them in a new
way they declared themselves in for their
bit almost before he'd got his suggestions
from between his teeth. and their bit COM
pared to his was as balancing boulder
| to pebble.
For many years. too, shrewd turfmen
| have had the idea that maybe American
, racing would thrive and get the money
| down in Old Mexico. All sorts of ex-
peultlonS. composed OF representative rdc-
| ing men. have journeyed to Mexico to look
the ground over down there. but they've
| all come back shaking their heads
The simple truth Is that the Mexicans
don't want our kind of racing. They've
got kind Of scrub racing game of their
| own going down there, but they say that
1T suits them all right and they don't want
any brainy and sharp Gringoes slamming
| in down there and disrupting their way
| Of racing. You can't even enter American
horses for Mexican stake races. They've
| fixed all that by providing in the condi-
! lions of their stake races that the horses
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-16

to them at the race track gates. ana right
then the rollers were first chuckeo unoer
the racing game at the Nat1onaI capital.
The legislative people wouldn't stand for
that kind of a snub. nor could they have
been expected to stand for 1t, and the
minute the anti-racing element OF WASH
ington got busy and appeared at the Cap
itol. requesting adverse racing leg1sia-
seized the chance to get back at the folks
who had hit them this little wallop be-
hind their backs. Human nature Is hu-
man nature. even If, it's screened by the
frock coat Of a member OF Congress. and
no turfman who knew the inside history
other defiant tricks pulled OF by the pro-
motors Of the Washington racing game
blamed the legislators In the least FOR
sticking the bolo in the Benning game.
THE racing out in California is always
pretty good racing. and profitable for the
horsemen. but It's more than fair gam
bic that it will never be SO satisfactory to
norsemen as 1t was when there was rae
Ing at New Orleans to sort OF balance the
situation. You see, the exploiters Of rae
men. the actual owners and racers Of
strings Of horses. when there's no compe-
tttion. There was always just a taste Of
arrogance in the attitude Of the Califor-
that this arrogance will be greatly amp!i-
fled now that California Is virtually alone
in the winter racing game.
with the game in progress at New Or
leans. the turfman in California who fig
ured that he wasn't getting exactly a
square deal-that his handicap horses
were being overweighted. that his jockeys
were being unduly punished or that his
trainer was unJustly suspected of wrong
doing when nothing of the sort was meant
why. such a horse owner could pick up
his doll rags. so to speak. and mooch
away from California. All he had to do
was to ship to New Orleans. where he had
two tracks to pick from. The California
track projectors hated to see horsemen
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-16
POOR FIELD ORDER
IN YEARS DERBIES.

The season Of 1908 will SO down in turf
history as particularly disastrous in a
good many ways. But in one point 1t is
especially lacking. and that Is in the cali
Der of its Derby fields.
Every Derby scheduled for the year has
now been run. And Of all the winners
only one can pretend to be high class
this Is Fair Play, the Hastings colt from
the stable Of August Belmont. Fair Play
winners in other stakes are surely poor
lot. Even the Cook colt. Lawrence p.
Raley. which captured the Canadian
Derby. has never been rated in the first
flight.
Meelick won the first three Derbies of
the year-the California, Los Angeles and
Crescent City events. Then he trained
off Angelus, an erratic creature. which
seemed little better than selling platter
at times, captured the City Park event.
Then Stone Street. probably the worst
three-year-oId which ever Won a Kentucky
Derby. took that noted classic. Pinkoia
another uncertain brute. surprised every
one by beating the cheap field opposed to
him in the Latonia Derby. Uncle Toby.
a selling platter. won the Hamilton Derby.
Then came Fair Plays Victory. and little
later Stanley Fay. another selling platter.
took the Seattle Derby. Lawrence p.
Daley wound up the season by capturing
the Canadian Derby. Contrasted with
the victors Of former years, they are in
deed a sorry lot.
For that matter England's crop Of
ee-year-olds had entirely failed to
come up to expectation. The magnifi-
cent lot Of two-year-olds Of 1907 nearly
all proved disappointments. 1t is hard
TO say just how to rate Eigmorinetta
winner Of both the English Derby and
English Oaks Although the victory Of
Chevalier Ginitrelli's fllly was extremely
popular. due to her owners personality.
nearly all spectators are agreed that
racing luck that mystic quantity,
tories.
Norman II. favorite in the Derby. STUN
bled at Tattenham corner and strained
his stifie just as Signorinetta drew out Of
the bunch Rhodora, Richard Cookers
flly, favOrite in the Oaks. was coming
through her field like flash when she,
too stumbled at Tattenham corner and
went down In a heap. She has never
raced since.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-16

wire fences will line the parkway from
beginning to end, so it Will be impossible
for cars to pack at any particular spot.
They will be admitted at the Whalaneck
avenue entrance which Is the eastern
entrance and beginning of the parkway,
and lined single file, in accordance with
the official parking space diagrams.
The cement portion of the new Wander
biit cup course will be twenty eight feet
wide, crossing all intersecting railroads
and highways overhead by cement via
ducts now in course of construction
These viaducts and bridges are the most
expensive port ions Of the new motor high
way. They must be fully twenty feet
above the level of the intersecting dirt
and railroads. The approaches must be
tapered down SO that the racing cars
can take them at full speed. All Of the
turns on the cement highway are SYM
metrcally rounded and banked, permit
ting a maintenance Of the same speed
which the cars attain on the level
stretches.
After leaving the grandstand the racers
will have very fast run over the cement
for six or eight miles eastward to Beth
page, where the parkway joins what is
known as the Round Swamp road. which
runs north. on slight grade. to the be-
ginning of the Plainview road. Follow
ing this road the car continues on north
to its intersection with new extension
Of the Jericho turnpike. At this point
the course bends directly west. around
what has been dubbed the "Flatiron
Turn The cars have a very speedy
stretch, nearly all down grade westward
alone the Jericho turnpike extension to
Jericho, one Of the turns on the 1906 Van
derbilt course. From there the new
course is over the old Jericho road to its
intersection with the old Westbury road.
thence south across a very flat country
to the Hampstead plains, thence to the
beginning of the cement way and east
ward over this to the grandstand, the
start and finish.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-16

and bounds He whipped every fighter
who barred his path.
It took Jim Jeffries a much longer time
to get where Burns is. And Jeffries Is a
larger and much more powerful man than
Burns.
Here is how the mighty Jeff came to the
top:
In 1897 he fought twenty-round draws
with Gus Rubin and poor old Joe ChOyn-
ski. In 1893 he whipped that quartet OF
shining marks Joe Goddard. Peter
Jackson, Pete Everett and Bob Arm
strong. His one hard fight was with Tom
Sharkey, and 1t took JEFF twenty-five
hard-fought rounds to gain the decision.
The only real fighters that Jeffries faced
during his career were Jim Corbett and
Bob Fitzsimmons, and he caught both OF
these men when their glory had begun to
fade.
Look over the list of victims and you'll
find the names Of Hank Griffin, Jack Fin
negan, Joe Kennedy and Jack Monroe.
Did JEFF fight any lemons? Just figure
it out for yourself.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-16

clauses in the forward pass rule provides
that when the forward pass Is legally
touched only the man Of the passer's side
who thus first legally touches it shall be
entitled to touch or recover the ball until
1t has been touched by an opponent. A
ball thus illegally touched or recovered
shall go to the opponents at the spot
where the foul occurred. However. any
player Of the side that did not make the
forward pass has full right to touch and
attempt to secure possession of the ball.
Furthermore, when the ball has been
legally passed forward and has been le-
gally touched by any player of the side
not making the pass before it strikes the
ground any player on either side may
touch or attempt to secure possession Of
the oval. While the ball is in the air
during forward pass players of the de-
fensive side may not use their hands or
arms on opponents except to push them
out of the way in order to secure the ball
themselves. Players of the side making
the pass, and who are eligible to receive
it. may use the hands or arms as in case
Of players going down the field under a
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-16

came of.
Even the Benning meeting at Wash
have always depended to snatch few
crumbs. will not take place, this fall.
Congress itself put the kibosh on the
Washington game. A very little bit of
diplomacy, not to say just common. or
binary good sense. could easily have saved
the situation with reference to the Ben
ming racing. As an instance of how good
sense was not employed down there, I'll
mention one thing that made the national
legislators sore. For decades it had been
the custom to send a meeting badge to
each senator and representative In Con-
gress for the Benning meeting It was
a rare thing for many Of the legislators
to visit the tracks, and 1t often happened
that the Congress was not in session at
all during the Benning meetings. So the
such circumstances. handed their meeting
badges over to their private secretaries,
and these young men. when they had the
chance. darted out to the Benning rae 80
with their employers badges and enjoyed
the racing. Nothing very wrong about
this, 1 think anybody will admit There
was plenty of room at the track, and If
the senators and representatives them
selves weren't in town, or, II in town,
didn't care to take in the races, there
secretaries shouldn't have used the
badges.
well. one Of the Washington stewards.
a man who has always virtually conduct
ed the Benning meetings. and a man, I
should add. who has done more to de-
stroy racing in the east than any other
twenty turf officials that I could men
tion-this overload Of the Washington
meeting heard Of how the congressman
secretaries were using their bosses
badges. and what did he do but instruct
the Pinkerton men on the gates to take
up all of these transferred badges as they
appeared That was done, and the secre-
told their chiefs Of what had been done
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-16
LANGFORD HAS MADE
FIGHTERS FEAR HIM.

Sam Iengford like a black tornado. has
syooped down on New York again, and
the fans who failed TO see him in the bat
tie with Tony Ross or his previous bat
ties here will probably have plenty OF
tim, 10 be sorry. because there is no pros
pect that he will be rlatched al any OF
The local clubs in many months. He has
committed the fatal error OF getting too
good
With the possible exception OF Jack
Johnson. L.angfo,d is the greatest lighting
machine in the world. and he has made
the mistak like Johnson. OF demons'rat-
Ing it too thoroughly. Nobody will aSht
him now, and no one cares To see him
fight the few remaining second-raters
TIL 1T might be lured into the ring with the
promise of a few hundreddo'lar bills to
take a certain ana terrible beating al the
hands of the invinc bic black.
After seeing LangforG fight II must be
admitted that Tommy Burns apologists
have some ground for their position that
white man should not night negro.
We would not like TO see any white man
that We valued at all get into the ring
with Langford. a squadron of heavy
cavalry might make a good showing with
him. but there is no white man IN the
fighting business today that he could not
stop in ten rounds.
Langford could not be anything else
but a great fighter No man ever car
ried the marks OF his trade more promi-
nently in face. head and build than the
negro heavyweight. At e ance Jefferies
might be weight thrower. Jim Corbett a
lawyer. Jack O'Brien a young business
man; but Sam Langford was always in
tended for a fighter, and could not have
been anything else.
His outline roughly resembles a pegtop.
He is about five feet eight or nine inches
tall, and he has a back, chest and shoul-
der structure that a man six feet four
might carry with pride. Great wads and
balls of muscle form and shift over his
ribs and shoulder blades and upper arms
with every movement. His arms are as
long and powerful as a gorilla's. Put this
framework on a pair OF taper
ing and comparatively slender legs. color
the whole a brownish black. and you have
the nearest approach to a perfectly pro-
portioned fighting mechanism ever built.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-16
MINOR CHANGES IN FOOT BALL RULES FOR 1908;
ARE NOT SUCH AS TO MAKE GREAT DIFFERENCE

In another month foot ball will again be
in the glare of the sporting spotlight. For
time it will be subsidiary to all-impor-
tant base ball and the worlds cham
pionship struggle. but will gradually take
its place as the premier sport Of the day
and demand the attention of thousands of
young and old American athletic lovers.
The first occurrence to herald the ap-
proach Of the great autumn pastime came
last week, when the official rules and
guide were issued. Several changes have
been made by the foot ball rules COM
mittee which will tend to make the game
even more open than heretofore. Points
affected by the alterations are the for
ward pass. penalty for holding and
roughness, time to be taken out and the
intermission between halves.
But the changes are not such as to
make a great deal Of difference. They
are slight. but in some cases may: never
theless. be important factors in the win
ming or losing Of games. One of the new
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-16

again. Street shipped him to Latonia
early In the spring Of last year and fooled
away all Of the spring months before he
got him to the post He started a num-
Der Of times and occasionally showed q
brief flash Of speed, but when his front
legs got too hot he stopped. He always
was played. no matter whom he raced
with and regardless of his previous de-
feats. He was taken south last winter
and Street finally gave him away to a
colored trainer. The latter again got
him to the races and Toboggan made some
of those nags at the half-mile tracks look
like buggy horses. But his winning streak
did not last long. and the colored man
found himself in debt. The other day the
feed man made his third call for the feed
bill. and in exchange for the $50 he owed
the darby gave the feed man the horse.
The latter since has disposed of him to
another man. Toboggan was once the
pride of James r. Keene and during his
early career won nearly 100000 for the
owner Of Colin.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-16
Photo Shows Completed Section of Long Island Motor Parkway and County
Highways Over Which the Great Automobile Contest
Will Take Place October "a Next.

While the fame Of the William X.
Vanderbilt, jr, cup race is probably great
err than that Of any Of the automobile
races Of Europe. with the possible ex
cept.on Of the Grand Prix, very little is
yet known about the new cement course
on Long Island, over which the 1903 race
is to be run October "a.
1t is very fitting that the big American
motor classic should now come into what
might be termed its permanent course on
historic and picturesque Lond Island. over
the public roads OF which 1t has been
run three times.
Eleven miles Of the Long Island motor
parkway will be completed early in Octo-
Der for elimination trials Of the Ameri-
can cars. which are going to try for the
cup. This eleven miles is not sufficient
for the entire course, but 1t Is situated
on the great plateaus OF the famous
Hampstead plains. which are crossed by
many public highways. with surfaces al
most as level as that Of the cement park
way itself
Through the cooperation of the super
visors Of Nassau county the Vanderbilt
cup commission has been given permission
to use fourteen miles Of these excellent
county and state roads. which Joined to
the parkway at either end make an ideal
triangular race course OF about 25.4 miles.
The race will start as usual soon after
daylight, and the grandstand, which is
to be located on portion Of the new
cement way where the spectators are
afforded the finest view Of the cement
course. will be reached directly by
special trains.
Never before have such complete ar
ransements been made for the accom-
mediation Of visitors to an automobile
race. There will be eleven miles Of ele-
CANT parking space on either side Of the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-16

Jim Jeffries gave the heavyweight cham
pionship title to Marvin Hart when ne
beat Jack Root. Tommy Burns whipped
Hart. says the Goldfeld News
jeff called Burns a lemon.
Just to keep up his good work Burns
beat the life out Of Bill Squires, Austria
lfa's best, in one round.
JEFF called him a lobster.
Then Burns travelled across the pond
and defeated Gunner Moir. England s
champion, with ease.
Jeff called Burns a ounce.
Poor Tommy! 1t matters not how hard
he tries, jeff. the champion who refuses
TO fight continues to hang the dub sign
on Tommy
Just by the way. Tommy Burns has don!
more in the way of actual accommodating OF
titles than any champion In the history OF
the ring.
But a short time ago Burns was a third
rate plug. He reached the top by leap:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-16
Is there anything in a name?

Toboggan. formerly one Of James Il.
Keene's noted racers. is somewhere in
the south pulling wagon, or possibly
pillow. by this time. Every player Of the
bangtails knows Toboggan. and the sad
fate of the former great Splinter will be
of unusual interest.
When Toboggan injured one OF his ten
dons and was practically useless as far
as racing with first-class horses In the
east was concerned, Mr.. Keene turned him
over to Doc Street. The latter. who is
an expert in patching up cripples. sue
ceeded in getting Toboggan to the post
again. and he won a number OF races
with the invalid. Three summers ago To-
boggan made his appearance at Latonia
and won a number of s-rints. He did
fairly we'll the following winter at New
Orleans. pntil his bad foot gave way