The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-06-12
HORSEMEN PEEvED
Small Purses Are Offered on
Running Tracks This Year.
Menke Tells When Base Hit Is
Not q Base Hit.
(BY FRANK G. MENKE.)

New I OTk, June 1Z."f1OTS6IHeu are
rebelling against the nigSardly purses
being offered on the New York run
ming horse tracks-and the public, as
usual, is the goat.
The prizes offered to bracket horses
at both the Jamaica and Belmont
tracks have been amazingly small, in
view of the "Takein" at the gate.
Some of the total prizes for each race
run only around the $500 mark; 9TH
ers are lower; rare few are higher.
As result. some horsemen who in
tended campaigning their animals on
the New York courses are shipping
them elsewhere. Day after day there
are numerous scratches.
The average field at Belmont was
somewhere around five horses. Once
a. two horse race was staged. Three
and four horse brushes are frequent
Rarely does the field total eight or
ten, is the case other tracks
where the meet promoters are some
what liberal
Diseases Not Cause.
The numerous Withdrawals were at
first charged to the fact that many of
the steeds were afflicted with a
coughing ailment. 1t is true that such
an epidemic did rage at Belmont but
that didn't render such a vast number
of them hors de race as was reported.
From one of the horsemen we get it
that none of the owners is anxious to
biggest prize his horse could win is
few hundred dollars.
THE stinginess of the promoters at
Belmont is apparent to anyone who
will take out a pad and do a little
figuring said the horseman. THE
Decoration Day crowd there was about
10000. The admission was SO for
men and $3.50 for women. Figuring
10000 men and 10000 women it
means that the total receipts were
about $4,000. And on that day the
race officials ran off six races with
total prizes amounting to a trifle
beyond $4,000.
THE average daily intake for the
meet probably will be $4,000. And
the average purses are around $4,000.
Can you blame the horsemen for
kicking?''
Campi Asked Right Party
Eddie Campi, the prize fighting per-
son, wandered into the Belmont park
paddock and became greatly interest
ed in a certain horse.
Say, fellah,'' exclaimed Eddie, en-
Enthusiastically slapping upon the back
the dignified man who was standing
alongside What horse is that? Who
owns him ?''
The man who had his back slapped,
turned around in a startled way and
saw the eager face of the prize fighter
staring into his. For a brief second
the man seemed to hesitate between
impulses-one to move away; the
other to answer the question. His
face softened into a smile and he gave
Campi the name and the full history of
the horse.
Say, that bird knows all about
horses, don't hep said Campi to a
friend as the stranger, having an
swered all of CampiS questions,
walked away
We'll, he ought to know a little
about horses" said Campi's friend.
THAT fellow was August Belmont, the
foremost figure in the horse racing
game in America
How Herzog Robbed Doyle.
Those who ask-"when is a basehit
not a basehit ?''-may find the answer
here
The Giants were playing the Reds in
New York, with the home crowd at
bat Burns was on second and Doyle
was at bat There were two out at
the time. The Red hurler served one
up to Doyle and he smashed a bound
er to deep short. Herzog almost ran
out of the diamond to snare the ball
but he got it.
Herzog saw in a flash that he had
no chance to catch Doyle at first be-
cause Larry at that very moment only
was three jumps away from the bag
Had HerZog made the throw Doyle
at the very least. So Herzog, having
noted that Burns got a slow start from
second Tipped the ball to third, Heine
Groh grabbed it and touched out
Burns sliding in for the third out.
Doyle didn't get a hit on that play.
II was scored as a fielder's choice. Yet
if no runner had been on the bags
Doyle would have beaten the throw
easily. 1t was a clean hit but the
slowness of Burns in that particular
| instance robbed Doyle.
The play also stands out as another
instance of Herzog's braininess. Ninety
per cent of the other shortfieldcrs in
| the game would have had their minds
so focused on making the play at first
that they wouldn't have taken third
into consideration. But Herzog did
| and because of that he beat Doyle out
of a hit, killed eff a man going to
third, ard possibly stopped the Giants
from scoring in that particular frame
AMERICAN LEAGUE.
| R.H L.
Philadelphia Z
Batteries-Meyers Majors, Sheehan and