New Britain herald., 1930-12-22

By WILLIAM BRAUCHER NEA Service Sports Editor

By WILLIAM BRAUCHER
 NEA Service Sports Editor
 The hard boots country of Ken lucky and the Oklahoma bad land have produced this year two Of tn most sensational young horse rider Of the generation.
 One is Henry Hand Ridin' Riley a Y year old kid from a ranch nea, Wetumka, who wears the kind o face that horses go for. The other Eugene James. a youth the same ag' from Louisville, has booted hom' more than 13o winners in five actua months of riding in races.
 Riley leads the pack of Ameri can jockeys, with 169 winning mounts up to the middle of Decem Der. He booted his first one homo March 6, at Agua Caiente, Both O the young stars still are apprentices
 Horsemen declare that the horses have a lot to do with the success o1 failure Of a jockey. Of Riley anC James, they say "horses run fol them" Around the stables thert are no higher words of praise tc bestow upon a boy. Those four word: are the turf's aCcolade, The words mean that each of these young mer are thoroughly understood by the thoroughbreds they ride.
 There are great many boy. wearing jockey clothes, il seems with whom horses will have noth. ing whatever to do. Horses will gc through the necessary motions for mere riders, the hardboo's of the track stouting aver. but they will run their hearts out for the boys they like.
 Riley, at r, has been riding horses for 10 years. First on the ranches near the Texas Oklahoma border, then in match races on the leaky roof circuits of the west, the boy kept steadily improving. He was winning races around Pawhuska, Tulsa and Kansas City when he was nine years old.
 Mrs. C. R. Allen, herself an Ok lahoman, found him in the sticks in 1929 and took him to Agua Callente, where in March, 1880. he booted Crispie Seth under the wire, his first winner. After that it came easy. He won four at Agua Caliente and went back to Tulsa, where he won IS in 12 days. At Kansas City soon after he won 26 in 13 days. He went on to Fairmount and added 16 winners in 12 days. At Bainbrldge he had 57 winners in 49 days.
 At Lincoln Fields he had three winners in eight days. He won 23 races in the Hawthorne meet. He rode nine days in Arlington Downs, on the WagEoner ranch in Texas, and brought in F winners. It was at Arlington Downs that he brought in four in a row. Then came the meet ings in New Orleans, where the trackfolk have been afraid to bet against him.
 Horsemen say that horses know nerve when they see it, And nerve is the story of Gene James, whose record matches, f not rNcels, Riley's $ for scnsationalism. James was born in Louisville in 1913, the son Of q railroad mechanic who never rode a horse in his life. The boy never rode q horse, either, until 1880.
 When Gene was l0 years old, he crawled under the fence at Churchill Downs and saw Zev win the Derby. He told his father he wanted to ride horses, but this met with objec- tions. His father wanted him to stay in school. The boy did, until he reached his second year high. Then the call became too strong. He went to Roscoe Goose, famous eX- jockey.
 Goose gave the kid a job hot walking" which means cooling off horses after races and workouts by walking them around. Gene got his first chance to ride July 4 at La tonia. Seven days later he brought in his first winner. Madcap Marvin. Though he did not ride the full meeting at Latonia, James had IT winners, At Dade Park he rode 10 winners in as many days, and went on to Lincoln Fields to win 30 in 30 days.
 He went on to Churchill Downs and in II days Of riding brought in 20 winners-fve of them in a day. Next at Latonia he won 31 races in 20 days. Today he is the ace rider of the stable of the millionaire grain operator, Joe Letter of Chicago.
 All of this James accomplished despite four bad spills At Dade Park his mount slipped on wet spot right at the break and threw him. He mounted again that days and a little later on the program was thrown when entering the stretch two lengths ahead of the field. The whole pack passed over him but he was unscathed.
 AL LIutOlil I lEilS IlC was luION II when his horse was struck by the heels of the runner in front of him. A short time later, he was thrown a gain when his horse stumbled and one of the runners tramped on his jaw. He was unconscious for a day, part of his jaw was removed by a surgeon--but he went right from the hospital to the track.