The Washington herald., 1909-05-23

The opening OF the Canadian racing
season at Toronto yesterday and Of the
Manitoba season at Brandon tomorrow
brings 10 American lovers OF the sport OF
Kings sorrowful thoughts Of the fall Of
their favorite pastime. When one reads
ln the sporting journals that the Buffslo
Handicap failed 20 oil. that the stakes at
Rome. y. Y. had 20 be reopened because
there were not enough entries. that the
TsFre Haufe Handicap was called OF. and
that event, the great Columbus Handicap,
did not al. he begins TO realize how thor
cushly the racing interests have declined
The b00kmskeF has been driven from Pill
Lar 70 pest until there are only two places
! ln the uHifed States whore he can ply
| his trade In the open-Pimiico. near Bal
,imore. and Latonia, near Cincinnati.
Only two years ago there were 5000
People al the races at Belmont Park on
/ Decoration Day. All lovers Of speedy
[ hossehesh ia New York seemed 70 be
there The boOkmaker fiourished in all
kis glory. ana it il said a million dollars
! changed hands In the betting Last year
the crowd had dwindled to 1000. and this
year there we're less than $3.50 people
within the gates. Il IS the same every
where. Almost IN a hight the American
pople have changed from the worlds S
greatest lovers OF horse racing 70 deter
mined opponents OF the game
II was thought that the outlawing Of
/ the race track in the United States would
result in the tTansplsnting of the Yankee
racing stables 10 Canada. but Canadian
sportsnen have declared that they want
10 "csrpetbag' racing there and that
thev viii not permit the long seasons
that have been the custom on American
tracks. However. the Canadians have
not yet reached the frame OF mind where
tie bookmaker Is looked upon as an out
law. The Cubans dc not have the same
scruples against "csrpetbag" racing as
the Canadians. and the spoTtsmen OF Ha-
vana are hoping 10 induce the American
horsemen 70 come there for a winter
racing season
Il has long been claimed that horse
racing cannot flourish without the book
maker. and this finds 20 better proof
than n the case OF the Saratoga track,
which. I'D 70 the tine OF the opening OF
Belmont Park. was the finest race course
IN The world Who does not recall sara
toga. richest summer resort II America,
place where money flowed freer than the
waters of It's many springs; summer
Headquarters OF both great political par
ties IN Hsw York, and meeting place OF
statesmen from every part OF the cOun-
try2 Yet the grandeur that was Greece
and the glory that was Rome are no more
departed than the splenGOr OF Saratoga
King Thoroughbred reigns there no more,
and a bill IS pending in the New York
legislature for the sale OF the Saratoga
property 20 the state.
Never IN the history Of the country did
rzcing give more promise OF permanency
tran in Ise7. An army OF men greater in
numbers than that with which the United
States won the Mexican war found =
their means OF livelihood EnOugh nil
lions were invested in the sport 70 equip
a second-rate navy and enough millions /
more were annually spent in its Upkeep
10 maintain that navy Never had such /
tremendous crowds gathered al the
tracks. never had there been better horses,
better Jockeys, better trainers. OF better
tracks But what seemed % be the signs
Of even a greater future proved the be-
ginning of the end The very prosperity
Of the sport contributed 70 lis unGoing.
and today horses that were cheered by
tens OF thousand as they led their field
Under the wire are selling for less than
10 per cent OF their ene-tirne value.
II was the bOokmaker who ruined the
game. He played both ends against the
middle with too great success. Statisti-
clans have figured OCt the percentages
Of the bookmaker and these figures show
that his chances were sixty 10 forty In
ether vords. for every dollar that was
posted IN bets he made 50 cents and the
bettor % cents He might lose to-day
and also tomorrow. but the end OF the
season would show him well ahead OF the
game The man who could least afford
Il was the most frequent loser. He vas
the "piker,' the fellow who put up his
money on a ''hunch-- or laid Il because
he had heard a rumo- from the inside /
trat this or that horse was going 20 win /
q certain race. The poor fellow did not
know that the boOkmakers start most OF I
these rumors themselves. that the book I
makers laid their odds after some ore
held q stop watch or the entries st their /
sunrise tryouts. The public simply con
stituted itself the guardian OF the '-piker'' I
when It banished the bookmaker.
Never IN legislative history has any
sport died so hard as when racing met 4
- s.-sr a. -r,o N-ox.- T-o-r- ree-fzfo-sr-a T