Evening star., 1908-01-19
FIGHT FOR RACING
IN NEW YORK STATE
Both Sides Lining Up for the
Fray-Attitude of Jockey
Club if Proposed Leg
isiation Fails.
By Clarence L. Cullen.

ears to the ground. nevertheless. one
observes Not only that. but there's a
certain expression Of perturbation on their
countenances They're little less loud
and emphatic. too. In saying what the
governor cant do.
The big lineup for and against New
York state racing has already been made
Signs of what the pro-racing people are
doing at Albany already crop to the sur
face Plenty OF Albany legislators who
never saw a horse race in their lives are
beginning to come out with statements
that 1.-The people of New York want racing
to continue: and itdoesn' trequire anyvery
acrobatic stretch of the imagination TO
perceive the fact that such legislators nave
been seen. The anti-racing people are
organizing in every assembly district IN
the Empire state, and they are gong 10
arrange matters SO that gocd many
Of the legsa tors at Albany SIMPLY VIII
not dare 10 come out with the announce
ment that they're for racing. Moreover,
the Richmond County Agricultural So
ciety has just passed a resolution ~
the effect that it doesn't want that piece
Of money which accrues to It through lne
racing around New York. This important
AGRICULTURAL Society announces that II
would be perfectly willing to sacrihce lis
piece Of the percentage or the racing 6ate
receipts II horse-racing in the state OF
New York could be done away Win al'o1 =
gether 1t is expected that a number OF OF
the other county agricultural societies VIII
follow this renunciatory lead. and II tney
do one of the main props OF the racing
folk will have been pulled from unuer
them. for they have been figuring All the
time upOn the greed Of the agricultural
societies as one of their chief supports
when the issue comes to head at Al
bany ,ooa
Saf oIft
and it will last, perhaps. throughout the
session. One of the surprising features VI
one Of the anti-racing bllls now peio.e
the Albany legislature is the penai.s a..
fached to the law framed for the purpose
Of stopping New York racing. 1t Is pro-
yided that violators of the law shall not
be punished by fine; shall not, inueeu'
even have the alternative OF q me upon
conviction. but that they shai ps IN
prisoned for their felony. II moderate
fine were provided for the violators OF the
proposed new anti-racing law the Weaitny
racing folk wouldn't be bothered hltle
bit. They could easily pay the moderate
fines and sathne go rgh, on ,ks kacs license fees in
such q case. But it is the surest tning
in the world that men like August BEL
mont would never take a cnance on soins
to prison for violating the terms OF an
were passed it would mean nothing snort
of the absolute determination and. per-
hans the final extinction Of racing as a
sport in the leading state in the Union.
If Legislation Fails.
Even if a drastic law absolutely pro-
hibitine New York racing is not passed
a nd signed by the governor-and 1T is now
perfectly we'll understood that he would
sign any sort of a measure of that gen
eral kind. no matter how drastic-it is al
most a certainty that a lot of restrictions
will be placed around the game that Will,
bv increasing the burdens of the game 8
exploiters all around. initiate against the
old glory of New York racing.
Several racing men close to the Jocke!
club have come out with statements that
no matter what happens at Albany, tHere II
be racing around New York this coming
summer. What they mean by this is tnat,
IL an anti-betting measure Is passed Dy
the Albany people. the New York tracks
will adopt the betting system which mas
been in vogue at Benning for couple OF
wears past Can anybody who has ever
visited Benning and watched the operation
of that system there imagine for mo-
ment that it would ever work at all with
the tremendous throngs that VISIT the
New York race tracks.
1t is. even at SO small track as Ben
ming. a miserably inconvenent way of bet
tendance at Benning from the time II
was first adopted. Men who didn I mind
walking up to stool and registering a
bet simply refused to put themselves 10
the immense discomfort of tracking con-
stantly moving Dookmakers, all of them
pretty hard to identify. around the betting
space and the lawn of the Benning track:
and after one or two laborious days OF
that sort of thing they gave 1t up in dis
gust and stopped visiting the track.
On the huge tracks of New York,
where. on big stake-race days. as high
as 90 900 people often take in the racing,
ii is simply unimaginable that the BEN
ming plan would or could ever work out In
actual practice. The confusion would be
so enormous that 1t is hard to see how
actual rioting and bloodshed could be
prevented The racing gang over here
are not patient people.
Racing Without Bookmaking.
few OF the somewhat too garrulous
pro-racing people interested in a financial
way in the tracks have gone so far as
to say that there'l be racing at the New
York tracks even If the betting feature
is totally eliminated. But these gentle
men certainly are conyersing lOquacious-
ly through their headgear. Racing sim
ply cannot go without the gambling
feature.
The .ace track proprietors couldn't get
handful Of people through their gates.
at So apiece, to see match race between
Peter Pan and Colin, supposng those
horses were members of different stables,
If there was no chance for the bunch
to get bet down.
Strangely enough. the race track peO-
pie at Chicago entertained the dreamy.
wistsu idea. too. that they might be
able to carry on racing without the
gambling feature after Carter Harrison
had put the gambling end Of the game
out Of business there. They tried It.
Prom $4,000 people on American Derby
day when there was betting, the at
tendance fell on the very next day.
when it was announced that there would
be no betting to the meaSly matter of
800 Then the track closed its gates.
Less Rack Track Exploitation.
If the racing people beat the antis and
win out one thing is certain: The
plungers who've attracted SO much unde-
sirable attention to the game are going
TO be landed upon like thousand OF
brick by the Jockey Club They're going
to be told that the air Is better outside
the track gates so long as they feel i'm
pelled to shoot along the big money on
their picks and thus get theF tracks
whole heap Of advertising of the kind
that does the racing game an immense
amount OF harm.
1t Ia stated that some of the more loud
mouthed clubhouse commissioners. sew
eral of whom have grown very rich by
skihning wealthy easy marks In the mat
ter OF prices. coming and going, viii nave
to 60, too.
I heard the other day that the Jockey
Club Is metit atirg the advisabilty OF en-
ploying a man to run down all OF the
stories which appear In the New York
newspapers from time 10 time about
men who have been ruined by the