Evening star., 1938-04-23
BUTT|NC, GOUG|NG,
JOCKEYS BARRED.
Doping Tolerated Only in
Clubhouse as 21.MiIe
Test Is Under Way.
BY JOHN LARDNER.


NEW YORK, April 23.-This is to
announce that a silver cup will be
offered to the winner Of match race
at any distance from a mile up be-
tween Glenn Cunningham and War
Admiral, some time next fall, provided
the Admiral whips Seabiscuit In their
contest on May go
The cup will be supplied by a
syndicate Of anonymous promoters and
Is known as the Davis Cup. There
Is nobody named Davis in the syndi-
cate, but we call it the Davis Cup to
avoid confusion with the Davis Cup.
The race Is natural. I have not
contacted either party yet-as a mat
ter Of fact, Cunningham has left
standing orders with his footman to
lock the front door when l come in
sight-but 1t is merely a matter Of
time before the champion runner and
the champion horse will see the beauty
OF the scheme. The cup alone is worth
$2.85, not to mention the good will.
Terms Are Liberal.
am conducting deeply significant
one-way correspondence with Samuel
D. Riddle, owner Of War Admiral. The
nature and content of this COR
respondence is secret to everybody
except the boy who empties Sans
waste basket. However, I believe it
will do no harm at this time to out
line some of the terms suggested by
me and nay hackers, every one of
whom is a name to conjure with in
Wall Street, Leavenworth or Ellis
Island. There is big money behind
this project. At least, there was big
money behind it at 4:3O pm yester-
day. haven't seen the results from
Havre de Grace.
These are the terms We suggest:
l. No jockeys Cunningham is
sensitive on this score, and the Admiral
would be sucker to carry the added
weight in battle like this one.
2. Distance, 81 miles. This is the
classic Longboat distance, so named
because it used to require d miles
for Tom Longboat, the old marathon
runner, to catch runaway horse.
3. Doping will not be tolerated, ex-
cept in the clubhouse.
4. There will be a standing start.
War Admiral. accustomed to starting
blocks and the familiar crouch, will
Just have to change his style.
S. In case the thing develops into
an overnight affair, each contestant
will be permitted to carry tooth
brush, change of shirt and IL ounces
OF flrst-class mail, for the benefit Of
stamp collectors.
8. There will be no butting or goug-
Ing in the cGncheS.
Admiral Given Early Lead.
It Is generally acknowledged that a
horse can outrun a man at the con-
ventional sprint distances of 10 miles
and under. In this race, War Ad-
miral probably will be across the State
line before Cunningham has warmed
up. But Glenn is master of pace. 1t
won't bother him to know that his op-
ponent is full l5-cent toll call away.
He'll just jog along, and in the sec
ond 10 miles he'll begin to close that
gap.
Horses become discouraged, and sub
ject to fits of depression. after II
miles. Some Of them have been
known to toy with the idea of suicide.
This is because the horse has power
ful intelligence. He knows there is
nothing he can get IL miles away that
he couldn't get for the same price
within a block of his home. He broods
and cusses and snaps at strangers
On top of everything else, there is
the oninous thought of the guy be-
hind him, eating up the distance and
giving no quarter. I have already
spoken Of old Tom Longboat, the In
dian runner, who used to herd the
horses on his fathers farm in Canada
Tom broke the heart of many a happy
go-lucky fugitive by his steady run
ming and powerful finishing kick.
Money Far Behind Race.
After the first 10 miles or So the
horse would hear footbeats in his
wake. Looking over his shoulder, he
would see Mr.. Longboat chugging along
with his nose to the trail, growing
stronger as he went. Ten more miles,
and Toms breath would be hot on the
neck Of the lamster He always COL
Jared his prey in the twenty-first mile.
1t was pretty discouraging.
Cunningham probably will employ
the same tactics as Longboat. If War
Admiral Is smart, and think he is, he
will conserve his energy over the first
few miles. 1t might be a good idea
to let Glenn set the pace and dog his
heels for a while. Then the Admiral
could open up. say at the Smile mark.
with burst Of late foot. This should
have "a powerful psychological effect
on Cunningham, If Cunningham hap
pens to notice 1t at all.
Glenn has been heard to knock the
Admiral's staying powers.
Strictly a sprinter," was his caus-
tic remark, and 1t ought to make the
Admiral's blood boil
MY hackers are confident that they
can make the match, perhaps for La
Dor Day. Spectators will be admitted
free. and we will have excursion trains
running along the route at regular in
tervals. There is important money be-
hind this thing, all right. I would not
care to saw how far behind.
(Copyrisht. 1898. By the North American
Newspaper Alliance, 1nc.)