New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-09-07
A. K. Macomber Boost,
Brighton Stakes Entry
Price to $4,000

as selling plaber Lhese days 0nea
upon a time an owner would do il viii.
out fear Of being molested. But nit.
the cry Of democracy and ib.rvs
ringing in the ears OF everybody n.
equality Of every man on the turf /,
made evident by the repeated bidsi,-
: I'D Of stake horses that are mssqusr,J.
ing as selling platers.
A. X. Maconber, the owner Of
/ string Of racehorses that cost els,.
to $4,000, joined the ranks yesterd,
Of the men At Belmont Park who 80,
/ seeking 10 force owners to proper,
. classify their horses-tO keep selli,,
races open for platers and rot q,
! stake horses. Mr.. Macomber does 70.
bet on the races, neither on his on,
thoroughbreds Lor those belonging :,
other patrons Of the turf. lie raee,hi,
horses for the sport that's in it, n,
! loves a fine horse because that horse
as typifed in the thoroughbred-etn
endure cold and heat, can race like the
( wind and can travel further than .ry
other horse, whether a half breed or
moncrel. Because OF this affection. Ia
believes that no man should race horses
just for the purpose Of making fort.
unc out of them, as so many men, with
A tendency to bet small fortunes, DO a,
the present time.
Tmbued with this spirit Of fair plsy,
il was not a matter Of surprise when
| Mr.. Macomper walked down 10 II.
Judges stand after Tippity Wtchethsi
won the MineolG Selling Stakes. With.
out hiding his intentions under h,
| cloak of an agent, but boldly, in he
open, Mr.. NacCmber bid up TipFiG
/ Witchet when ne was offered for sale
/ at the entered price Of s2.l0O.
! With bids Of $500 and $500, Mr. Va.
/ comber carried the winners yalu. .,
/ 20 $4,000. After each bio, ar sgen.
4 acting for the owner o. the horse, sad
! 20 be George Smith, OF Manhattan "a;
nominal owner is the Brighton Stable.
said s. additional. In this fashic,
! Trinity Witchet was knocked down 70
/ his owner for s4,505-an advance Of
| s2,f05 over the gelding's selling price.
Causes Much Comment
This action OF Mr. Nacomber created
no end Of comment among the turfmen.
There have been halter men" OF past
and present days whose methods did
! not smack of disinterested purposes,
| but this was the first time in many
years that man Of Nr. Macomb.rs
prestige and prominence on the turf
I has taken hand in the effort 70 throt.
| tie what is called the selling race
masquerading stake horses ia
the guise Of plstcrs.
The value of the stake to Tippity
Witchet was sl,065 net. As his pric,
was raised s2,405, his victory cost his
! owner $3.50, an amount that is sun.
cient TO cause food for reflection 10 hi,
/ owner-does it pay 10 win selling races
With other than selling plater' The
odds against Tippity Witchst was |
! to 2. George Smith is a plunger Of
| the top-notch magnitude, but At thn
/ price he could not have won v,T
( great sum, and horselnen declared a.
| ter the race that Mr.. Macomber's &C.
tion would prove a salutsry lesson.
: The race was hardly contest e1.
cept in name. for TiPpity Wi,chet 30
/ far outclassed his two opponents, Dawn
Star and Sabretash, that he beat them
out under strong pull after leading
/ all the way
The race OF the afternoon that
caused the greatest excitement was the
! fifth, selling affair at mile and
| furlong. II it had been a breakfast
/ food and not contest between four
/ horses it would have left an unples'-
ant taste in the mouth Of the spects.
tors. As it was. many made wry faces
! and not a few called II "Darktoyn
/ Derby" in the expressive vocabulary
Of the turf, this term means that for
wileS and tricks John Chnaman is not
/ alone, but that there are others. Joe
/ Marrone, the contractor. was almost
speechless after the race. He owns
/ Wooden Shoes, and. like 80 per cent
of the patrons Of the track, thought
! his horse should have beaten His Nbs
which earned the decision by head
Marrone had a heart-to-heart talk with
! Jockey Kleeger after TIE race. KS
feelings had strange hold on his
! English. out ne did manage 10 gasp
out At intervals.
Loses His "Ambish"
"Kleeger lost his smbish. He "ss no'
caught in the TANNER. with only three
horses running. With no pockets
fall into the only excuse ! can give
for losing with Wooden Shoes is ths'
'Kleeger lost his smbish''
There was some justification ioi
Narrone's criticism OF Kleeger's r'd'ns
The jockey, whether he lost "his an
bish" or no. certainly took matters
easily on Wooden Shoes. lie permitted
20 2 down to I 20 8. to steal big lesa
on the turf out of the backStrsteh'
Even this mistake could nave been
overcome if Kleeger had ridden to bet
ter advantage on the turn for rome
Instead he made wide turn and los'
six lengths. This was blunder No. :.
But there was still nope for Wooden
Shoes provided Kleeger was alert. ~,
Nibs, the pscemaker, was stopping ias'
and Jockey Buxton was driving des'
perately to keep him in front. kleegeb
for some reason that was not apparent
did not realize what vas patent 70
everybody else that His Nibs va
stopping 20 a walk. Kleeger took no
heed Of this, but held Wooden Sno'
under a pull until we'll inside the la,'
sixteenth He then cane 70 life sVo.
denly up to this time he had osel
sitting on his horse like craven lm.se
and shaking his whip "a: Woodtn
Shoes made a sudden dash for ~
NibS. The challenge came too lAf.
Wooden Shoes closed up two lengths
on the leader, but just failed 20 get ",
although overhauling His Nibs at every
jump.
Alhnrt Sinnra nrhn 4.uins lie SEE