The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-10-05
ON TRAIL OF
 RACING MEN May Break Up New York Sport. GRAND JURY IN THE GAME Three Police Officials Are Among
 Indicted. Fate of Racing in York State Again Rests in BaIsnce--Promi-
 nent sportsmen are
 Now Involved.

New York, Oct. 4.--After two years of agitation against race track gamb- ling in this state. marked by the passage of the drastic anti-betting bill generally referred to as the Hart Agnew law 1t remained for the Kings county (Brookiyn) grand jury to write new chapter in the crusade when the matter was brought in to court by indictments against the two big Kings county race tracks. three police of hcials, i've private detectives and twenty-ffve bookmakers.
 The Brighton Beach Association was similarly involved last year hut the case failed and the action has here tofore been mainly against bookmakers or betting. the defendants in which proceedings have been generally ex- onorated by the lower courts which held that oral betting was no crime. The first test of these cases will fe made by the court of appeals this week. It was the increase of "oral betting" conducted by the so-called memory brokers" that resulted in this evidence of Governor Hughes con tinued activity and the indictment as a corporation of the Brooklyn Jockey Club and the Coney Island Jockey Club.
 For some time 1t was known that
 
 the apparent increase in oral betting conducted on q so-called comparative ly small scale during the first part of the racing season. and for several days there have been rumors of indictments. But 1t was not until today that 1t be- came definitely known who the de- fendants were.
 Foremost are the Coney Island and Brooklyn Jockey Clubs, charged, as ta |, nf f.. h Ia ing betting to go on. This involves a number of the most prominent sup porters of racing in the United States
 Vanderbilt Involved.
 W. K. Vanderbilt owns a controll- ing interest in the Coney Island Jockey Club of which Schuyler L. Parsons Is president George Peabody Wetmore and MT. Vanderbilt are yice-presi- dents.
 The president of the Brooklyn Joe- key Club, who operates the Grayesend track Is Philip J. Dwyer.
 The police officials. Indicted for conspiracy" on the ground that they knowingly permitted the Sheepshead Bay race track to be used on August 20 last for betting purposes, are In spector John J. O'Brien. who Is accus- ed also of neglecting his duty in fail- ing properly to supervise the work Of his subordinates, Sergeant Hugh Rey- holds and Hukh Meyers Of Superin- tendent OBriens personal stag. The private detectives arrested are Sey- mour Butler, who. was in charge of the race track force and for years has been a well known figure to fol- lowers of the sport on Metropolitan tracks, and four of his subordinates.
 John G. Cavanaugh who for years has been the dominating figure in the
 HAA~ z.1t zt. tracks. leads the list of twenty-five alleged bookmakers who are indicted. The list includes the best known book makers in the country.
 The three indicted police officials were araigned in the Brooklyn county court today, pleaded mot guilty" and were released on parole. Warrants for the arrest of the others were issued and a search for them was immedi- ately begun. It Is expected that the cases will all be set for trial on octo- Der IS.
 There was much gloomy speculation among local followers of racing to- night as news of the new crusade against gambling was spread about the city.
 During the present season the new system of betting which was evoked for the purpose of evading the Hart Agnew law has put new life into the racing game and the tracks while by no means as successful as they were before Governor Hughes signed the nti-gambling bill, have recovered a measure of their prosperity and have been we'll patronized.
 The betting system used has in- volved the use of three bookmakers in the case of each wager. one Of whom takes the better's money while another registers the transaction and a third pays the winner the following day. Its was supposed that this three cornered transaction was so involved as to evade the law but for weeks county detectives have been collecting evidence through which the authorities hope to find prosecutions Upon the outcome hinges largely the success oi .-ak~- o.. kha franiro haraa