New-York tribune., 1909-01-18
COMMENT ON SPORTS
THE HOPE FOR RACING.
sezss and Vieac8 Oh Current Topics,
Amateur and Professional.

Fl year aeo at this time entries for the majority
q the Leading stakes. including the BrookIyn n
huSur!an and Brighton handicaps. had cioseo'
-acegeers were looking forward 10 the allotment
z weights. which always came about February i
! he dates for t7s various meetings nad beeh d.
sisned. and the outlook was bright Tor the most
sucoessful and prosperous season IN the history OF
! ne American turf Now because of the passage
II certain law in Albany last June, there mas
hee7 NJ advertised closing Of stakes. no dates nave
been assigned and. SO far as the average follower
u tna sport is concerned there is no certainty that
4 meeting will be held race viii be run TINS
year. on the last named score there should be ho
ca,,se for dIsQuietude. Assurances Of 4 more or
less indefinite nature have been made from tn1e 10
lime that there would be racing al the iesolns
tracks the metropolitan district, and only yes
terdav a man who stands high in the COUNCILS OF
she Jockey Club expressed the utmost surprise
vher / asked a pointed question about the outlook
FOR the coming season. and said. Why. certainly
here VIII be racing, and plenty Of It When asked
for details he shrugged his shoulders and put me
Of with the same old answer that has been heard
repeatedly since the curtain was rung down last
Nc-er1hert The various associations are not vet
ready TO announce their plans Il is enough, per
haps. 10 know that the sport, which was forced TO
struggle for its very life through the latter part OF
last season is not dead and that hopes are enter
tained even for its complete recovery. but still
some Official announcement would be acceptable TO
racesoers-
While on this subject it may be said that horse
rnen 90 whom ! have talked recently are more
optimistic than st any time since the passage OF
she Agnew-Hart law There Is not one who
lrae1nes for one moment that the sport viii reach
b one or even five years the point that marked
are heydsy Of its prosperity; there is not one who
IS not fully convinced that the day Of organized
bookmaking Is past so far as this state Is con-
cerred But with few exceptions they are taking
lot OF corfort the recent court decisions bear
sre upon the Interpretation OF the law and its
forcerent and Gathering themselves that, once
these cases are cleared up and one knows where
DE stands 50 far as a visit to the track is con-
rerned. hundreds VINO turned away in disgust
last season viii take up the sport again with re-
newed Higor.
r have stated ii as nv opinion than once
In this column that racing could only live but
attain certain degree Of prosperity without organ
tied betting as there Is enough about the sport IN
Itself which is attractive During the closing meet
Ing at Jamaica last season confess that my
i3aith in this assertion suffered rude shock But
is1nce then have come back. 10 large extent. to
my old way Of thinking The average man viii not
brook censorship and the average man will deny
himself his highest pleasure rather than submit TO
any restriction of what he considers his rights For
these reasons the conditions that obtained al the
tracks last year were OF 3 kind 10 drive persons
away by the hundreds. because they did
have their going and their coming watched by
some g-uf hIuecoat some lynx eyed detective
pending decision Of the courts questions Of
Theory and fact These lovers of the thoroughbred
VIII return
It is rather satisfying TO hear that the French
racing authorities did take the drastic action
which has been credited TO them in this country
concerning American owners and trainers. II was
published as 2 fact that rule had been passed
practically bar horsemen of this country from rae
ing and training in France but it turns out that
this was canard. fully explained in letter
s--1, 49,
The letter follows:
The report that the French Jockey Club has
passed this rule was current in Paris before it
zen 70 Iiletlc pGt can assure you on Jhe hSLl-
tst authority that there is truth in the report
pnd that the Jockey Club has never for a moment
thought Of passing such rule The reason for
the report getting about suggestion TO thar
erect e[Iect when, put forward by some unauthorized
n fact, the French stewards viii welcome as in
the past, any American racing man who wishes TO
keep horses In France and 10 race for the sake Of
the sport but they VIII be visilant possible
into their band wagon. Therefore think it veIS
unlikely that they viii grant any licenses TO Ameri-
TO open public stables here Jockeys VIII be treated
feconnended hy the stewards of the Tay2s w.
Jockey Club would doubtless secure his license.
Those persons who are always looking for an
excuse to denounce athletics Cor the evils that
crop up from time to time have picked ont t,a
death CT Criswold the Yale stroke. who colIanse5
tn the eisht-ozred shell race with Harvard last
June, as strong argument against four-rnile
races. There may be good reasons for reducing
the distance OF varsity rowing races from four
miles 10 three or perhaps two, and there was a
tine when was strong advocate for q re5uc-
ion, believing that would lessen the strain
and provide q faiTer the relative merits Of
two or more crews. Why the unfortunate death
Of Griswoid, however should be picked out as the
heading point. when typhoid fever. and not rowing
was The direct cause, il is hard understand. II
has been published the best authority that
GrIswold took the highest mark in all physical
tests during the preliminary season and Just be-
fore the race, and, as Julian Curtis explains his
collapse IN the must OF necessity have been
Que 10 extreme nervousness Some oarsmen and
athletes in other branches of sport do sl,4fer
IN after life the result of entertaining in their
zeal to excel. but the exception does not prove the
-ule and il has been demonstrated tine and time