The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-08-15

SbFss>IJTDIN, httH tNtu man,
~ slightly above medium height,
worked his way quietly and
u~nobtrusive.y through the groups OF
men weaving In and out before the
official blackboard and into the judges
stand on this part.cula. afternoon Mt
Aqueduct racetrack. So far as could
be perceived he neither recognized
SCR ,~nA a single person III the
crowd, and II was also apparent that a
very few In the crowd gave him even
glance.
There he goes" exclaimed one vet
eran Of the races sdmiringly, "thc man
who makes the racing In these parts;
and did you notice that not more than
one or Two In that mob knew him. AL
though all Of them think they know
something about the racing game.
Every man In that crowd knows his
name backward and spends every
racing day of his life in buck
ing him. but he don't seem to
realise there In a regular human being
attached to the name.
That man," concluded the veteran.
still admiringly, as he pointed to the
slender a who had oy this time
climbed the stairway into the racing
holy of HOLES. has the profits and
daily losses Of more persons in the
United States depending upon his
Judgment than almost any other man
you might name. The 5000 or 10000
Of them down here. can he forgotten,
for throughout the whole country, in
all the big cities. the little cities. the
towns and even the country districts
are millions interested or dependent
upon the racing game-he's the man
who makes it for the big tracks"
Now all this preliminary was sim
ply a way Of calling attention to Wal
ter 8. Vosburgh. official Handicapped OF
the racing associst tons of the metro
politan district under the jurisdiction
Of the American Jockey Club-the big
tracks Of the country. as the veteran
called them.
Literally the veteran was correct in
his assertions and his description Of
the responsibilities resting upon the
shoulders of the Official Handicapped.
Upward Of $50. 00O. 900 Is invested In
the racetracks. the racehorses and the
breeding or training farms OF the
country, while the number Of persons
who draw salaries or wages therefrom
runs we'll up into the thousands. All
Nhta nonAN L.. A. -. 49, A-.
and Energy employed simply because
this one mar makes the promises Of
returns from the sport fiattering
enough to maintain public interest.
and public interest. OF course, is the
life blood OF IL all.
In order to explain exactly what a
Handicapped does and why he is the
keystone. 50 to speak. of the sport OF
racing II Is necessary to digress for
Q little while.
BY ~handicapping Is mean the en-
dcavor to equal.zc the chance for
victory Of every horse entered in u
gwen race. 1t is done by the al!ot-
nent Of the weights each horse must
carry In the event. II there were no
handicapplns racing very soon would
become demoralized and the pubic in
terest would wane. II the weights
were fixed arbitrarily at "a certain
figure certain horses would win at
certain distances and thus confine the
sport to relatively a very few.
Tho public always tires Of Ger
ta.nties and would cease to paironizc
h tracks. In consequence there
could DE no elaborate tracks. no great
purses. no extensive breed ne cs-
Adjustments nor army Of employees.
Very few would care 10 risk t..udsdnds
at their breeding farms knowing their
only possible chance OF reward lay in
the breeding Of a world beater. But
since by the imposition OF vary ing
weights at different times in d fferent
events every horse except a hopeless
one has his opportunity To VIII. omc
times men will continue To maintain
their studs and their stables. depend
Ing 'i,un neil mediocre horse ,or
some Of the expenses and striving
always for the racing giant.
1t goes without saying then tina the
official Handicapped. the n,n w'o
gives all the horses a chance, Is a
unique individual in many resp, cts.
He must have almost absolute knowl-
edge Of racing and :acehorses and yet
be above its destinations. He must
never back his Judgment as other men
DO. He must w cultivate the in