New-York tribune., 1908-06-22
COMMENT ON SPORTS
RACING IN THE BALANCE.
Ners and Tiescs on Current Topics,
.4mateur and Professional.

.dmateur and Professional.
While the future of racing in this state is still
hanging in the balance and no man can tell "ha'
effect the adverse legislation al Albany VIII
eventually have on the sport, the outlook is hoi
so dark and foreboding it was week ago
The size of the crowd at Sheepshead Bay on
Friday and Saturday proved conclusively thal
the booknaker was not The only attraction ana
that the sport is popular enough TO live ana PEI
hans prosper under an order Of things that
many believed would mark its ruin the more
pessimistic point out that the lure of racing is
still strong upon those who have been finding 1t
their chief source OF amusement. and this may
be true which would account in part for the pig
crowd that turned out 10 see Ballot win the
Suburban Handicap Friday and Colin the
Tidal Stakes on Saturday. The more optllnlsllc'
however see in the size Of the crowds ana the
enthusiasm over the winning of good horses
future for the turf which was not dreamed or
and an assurance that there is much more III
racing than betting rings and bookmakers-
Time alone VIII settle the much mooted question:
but in the mean time those in control of the
sport viii start building anew in an effort 10
keep alive that interest in the thoroughbred
which has been 50 pronounced in the last few
wears In talking with we'll known member OF
the Jockey Club on Saturday the opinion was
expressed that once the courts had construed
the new LAW and had made ruling as 10 "hal
constitutes violation, conditions would pe
much better He said further: When TINS
rresent uncertainty Of what constitutes the
rights Of the associations and their patrons is
oyer il will be possible 10 make plans Tor the
future The opinion seems 10 be general lHa'
the police have gone too far in an effort 10 pre-
vent what is not a violation of the statute, and
z-io1
who must wager TO get their full enjoyment can
Do so while those who like to the horses run
from the pure love of competition can go 10 the
track without feeling that they are under police
.oensorship Then il can be decided whether IL
will be best TO raise the price OF ADMISSION 10
the main inclosure leave things as they are OF
make racing r--ore Of a spectacle by ADDING TWO
or three events and establishing so-called popu-
lar prices Of admission"
Z Jimmy Rowe. who trains Ballot. Colin and
~elt for James r. Keene. knows which is the
hest horse OF the three he Will not tell. and II
AR 6eene has any preference he will not con-
fess II. have no lestancy in saying, however,
thar Colin in nv opinion is The greatest horse
ever bred and developed in this country, ana
thai Ballot and Celt would follow him home IN
that order if they were in separate stables ana
meeting was possible over a mile and quarter
or any distance. for that matter What morse
race that would be- For there cannot be more
than six or eight pounds between them, judging
from close analysis Of their races in the Ildal
Stakes the Suburban Handicap and the Brook
1x-n Handicap and on a line through Fair Play,
the wonderfully good Hastings colt which in
almost any other year would be champion In
the Brooklyn Handicap Celt made his own pace,
stood off two or three challenges and came away
TO win cIeverly. In the Suburban Handicap Bal
lot did the same thing. while Colin, with the pos
sihle exception Of the Futurity, when he met
with some interference in the early part, has
ever borne the brunt Of the battle from barrier
30 finish. is 10y the revelation Of the qualities
Of speed. stamina and courage that Colin, Ballot
and Celt have endeared themselves TO all true
lovers of the thoroughbred. The ability TO set a
\ dizzy pace and the class to maintain it if nee
essary over any distance what make Colin,
Ballot and Celt three of the greatest horses of
the decade. Ballot ran the mile and quarter
in the Suburban in 2.13. within fraction of a
second of the worlds record for the distance,
but according to Notter, who had the mount, did
not have much left at the finish, which not
sl1rrrising although he appeared win easily.
Colin ran the mile and a quarter in the Tidal in
2.O4 but won looping after Notter had reused
him little at the last furlong pole. Both ran
the first half mile in IL seconds and went TO
the six furlongs in about the same time in
III 3-5. Ballot turned the mile in 81 TO l:3S
for Colin. but the latter was beginning TO loaf
al that point having killed off opposition to
large extent In looks and conformation thers
is little 10 choose between Colin and Ballot al
though the former which is a dark brown, fills
the eve for this reason more than Ballot, which
is light chestnut.
Il begins 10 look like another Keene year.
the vice-chairman of the Jockey Club has won
2 ma jority Of the most coveted fixtures to date.
and earned a total Of S141.2Ca This. too, with
out any tyyo-year-olds which approach John E.
Madden's Fayette and Sir Martin and Herman
Brandts Fitz Herbert. 1t is said that Jimmy
Rowe has not uncovered his best youngsters up
10 thi- ~1e in which case there may be another
story 10 tell later. Colin, unbeaten in fifteen
starts has won S17s,5oo. and it is not unreason-
able TO believe that in due time he will earn
more money than the great English horse Isin-
glass which now holds the record, at S2s0 $50
The Giants put on their seven league boots
last week and the delight OF their followers
won four out Of the five games played-two from
Cincinnati and tRo out Of three from Chicago.
the worlds champions Further than that, they
gained frty-two points in percentage on the
Cubs who still lead the National League race
Il was heartening work. and made up in part
TO the local fans for the terrible slump the
Yankees are experiencing. The Giants have now
five OF the seven games played with Chi
cago this season. a record 10 he proud of.
Mathewson is pitching in his best form once
more. while AIcGinnity and Crandan are doing
81 5.oT1