New-York tribune., 1919-09-20
Race Stewards
TOClean House.
Says F. J. Bryan
Action Follows Victory of
King Sim; Another Bad
Day for Favorites
By w. ]. Macbeth

A blow in the right direction. which
has for its aim general housccleanng
of certain clique that has been manip-
ulating and fixing" steeplcchascs in
the East this season, was launched bv
the stewards at Aqueduct yesterday
afternoon and resulted in the barring
from the turf of stecplechase jockeys
A. Fitzgerald and " Mahoney, and Wal
lace Taylor, a former 'cross-country
rider.
The BADGES of the two Jockeys were
taken up, and they, with Taylor, were
told very pointcdly to 20 home and not
return Frank j. Bryan, the steward
representing the National Steeplechase
the three alleged Objectionable char
acters would be barred from all race
tracks over which the Jockey Club has
jurisdiction.
This drastic action followed the run
ming of Yesterdays steeplechase. Ma
honey rode King Sim, of the Triple
Springs Farm. to victory. Fitzgerald
had the leg up on Robert Oliver, the
odds-on favorte, which finished very
much discredited third after trailing
the field about a quarter OF a mile NEST
of the way
Difficult to Secure Evidence
1--WE intend to clean up the Clique
that has been manipulating steepie-
chasing" said Mr.. Bryan when he an
nounced the drastic action taken By
the stewards For some time we have
been cognzant Of the fact that cross
country running was not all that it
should be. but it was difficult to secure
conclusive evidence. Yesterday, when
Robert Oliver dropped SO far out o.
the competition, Louis Garth raced
out into the field and shouted to Fltz-
gerald: Go on with that horse
Mr.. Garth Immediately went before
the stewards and lodged a complaint
against Fitzgerald. who failed to ridc
according 10 instructions. me Jockeys
were called before the stewards and
cross-examined sharply. At first both
with the race.
"Fitzgerald attributed his position to
the fact that his mount was last OF
Finally. however. he broke down and
confessed that some man tname oifl
cially withheld who had formerly been
ruled OFT called him by telephone and
made Il proposition to him To-day at
the track tho man pat in an appearance
and further attempted 10 influence
fitzgerald. The jockey said he hac,
turned down this proposition Hativ AND
that he was IN no manner lnhuehce'
bv it, But this cross-cXam iDation VEN
ned verv many damaging facts that had
been called to the attention OF the
stewards and showed concluslveiy tina
the Young men implicated we're dei-'
mental to the best interests OF tho
turf.
"Nor do we intend to allow thc mat
ter to rest mere" concluded My
BRYAN. "Thc stewards Will continue
the investigation and if the facts wal
rant it and it is possible to 40 sc
criminal action undoubtediy Will Dc
taken AGAINST the offendcrs.'
The steeplchasc in question WAS in
deed an offence against racing senal-
hilities. Robert Oliver was allowed t'
.irop almost quarter Of mile ou'
of the competition. The last bait o
the last turn OF the field he was sen
along at killing pace which left hin
dizzy and blown in The pinch. Ever
the fact that Robert Oliver is slugglsr
stced and one hard TO handle ana no
! excuse the faulty ride OF this apPreH
t@cc boy.
Routlcdgc Does Poorly
The drastic action Of the steward
is most commcndablc one. 1t IS t'
be hoped that the same vlgiiancc l.
eoon TO be forthcoming III the ha
racing Two or three occasions TOR OIL
cial notice presented themselves yes
tcrdav. Ambrose's handling OF Eout
ledge in the lightweight Handicap TO
all ares was painfully amaterrisn, !
not worse. He took back after ial
start and finished on the outside ga!
loping. Routledgc was an odds OF
favorite.
In the feature race, the Glen Gov
Stakes, Rice displayed a painful lacl