Los Angeles herald., 1908-09-11
HORSEME EN- FAVOR
HANDICAP PLAN
HARNESS EVENTS THUS MADE
MORE EQUAL
SERVES TO GIVE ALL HORSES AN
EVEN CHANCE
Generally Is Believed It viii Increase
Earning Power Of Trotters and
PAGERS by Making Them
contenders In Stakes
BY DAN PATCH

SFNhN = ~ VII
Radical changes and Innovations have
been made In trotting races In the last
seven or eight years. but none greater
than resulted from the great $4,000
| handicap at Boston last month. That
| 1t was an unqualified success from ev-
cry point of view, including that of tho
| box office, can not be denied. and AL
ready other meetings have advertised
| that next year handicaps will be on
their programs, notably Columbus,
which will give $4,000. The great Diff
| f1culty, of course, Is In handicapping
the horses fairly, and especially where
they have no records and in many in
stances have never faced the starter.
Still, this can be done successfully,
as was proved at Readville, where it
was impossible almost to place the six
horses back of Allen Winter, the win
ner, so closely were they punched.
There always is a howl at any inno-
walton in the way of conducting an old
| and established sport, and yet there are
SO many deviations from the old best
three In five heat-trotting races made
In tho last few years that races under
the original conditions are in the
minority at most of the large meet
ings now. But two in three, every heat
q race, three heats the limit, have
shortened the races and given more
satisfaction to the public, who can get
quicker action for their money and
get home from the races at q reason
able hour.
Handicaps VS.. Stake Races
1t would be very much fairer to all
concerned IL the new system was sub.
| stituted for the present stake feat
uses. For instance, take a number of
horses entered all down the .1ine" In
a 2:20 stake. They pay a large per-
centage of their entry fees before the
| first stake is trotted, or paced, as the
| case may be- They are shipped to the
| first racing point, some from a very
long distance, in some cases a couple
| CT thousand miles, and start. only to
| find they are all up against sensa-
| tional horse that SO far outclasses
them that, bar accidents, he has every
stake throughout the circuit at his
mercy. They are compelled to fight all
the balance of the season for second,
third and fourth money, which gem
orally Is only so per cent OF the money
hung up fer the race. though they have
had to pay the same percentage of the
purse as The winner.
There is a case in point up north
this year. It is Kirkpatrick's PAGER.
| Charlie b., by Mckinney. Would IL
| not be of more interest to the public
and make better betting proposition
| and fairer to the other horses if such
a horse was handicapped after demon
strating his ability, not to prevent him
1 WlnuiAAS, OuL " give lu0 OlA6I6 I'LL
equal chance against him?
Practically "Ringer"
| After a horse has won the 2:20 stake
or any heat in 1t, say In 2:10, ewhen he
starts again In the next 2:20 stake he
really Is trotting out Of his class and
but for the entries for all the stakes
he is entered In closing before he made
his record of 2:10, he would be a
ringer" and punished accordingly.
| AS 1t is, he simply Is legaiized one.
On the other hand, the horses could
all be entered for the 2:20 stake, as
heretofore. That would prevent fresh
horses getting into the later races, but
after the first race heat winners or any
others that showed conclusively that
they outciassed the others could be
| handicapped and their penalties an
nounced when the "class" entries for
the next meeting closed, usually ten
days prior to the opening date.
| This would keep alive the interest in
| that particular stake and would make
| 1t a strong drawing card at all the
meetings, instead of depending, as
1t either because OF the large amount
| of money involved or the desire to see
the sensational horse that already had
won SO many of them and such a large
sum.
Hard Game at Best
Any scheme that VIII equAlize
horsemans chances of winning enough
during the season to pay expenses
should be given trial, and these large
purses, like the $4,000 handicap, with
| the nominal entrance fee of 5000, cer-
tainly are to be commended. Horse
men, for years, have been really trot-
ting for their own money, the races
being In reality sweepstakes. for in
$1,000 purse, sixteen entries, though
only four may start, pay the purse.
The association advertises with a great
| flourish of trumpets that they offer
these large purses, each horse being
assessed s per cent to enter and an
additional per cent from money win
| ners, divided 80 per cent, 20 per cent,
| 15 per cent and 10 per cent.