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A SUGGESTION FROM MEMPHIS. Having in view important possible action that may mark the annual meeting of the Western Jockey Club next Monday a gentleman of high standing in the affairs of the turf writes aB follows to Daily Racing Foeji: Memphis, Tenn., December 4. A great many articles hava appeared from time to time in the various papers about the fight between the two racing bodies of the west namely, tha Western Jockey Club and Turf Congress tracks. The clubs racing under the Western Jockey Club are: Washington Park Jockey Club, Chicago Jockey Club Hawthorne, Harlem Jockey Club, New Memphis Jockey Club, New Louis ville Jockey Club, Latonia Jockey Club and the Crascont City Jockey Club. The Bt. Louis Fair Association was originally one of the clubs of this organization, but, after the purchase of the Fair Grounds by the firm of Cella, Adler and Tilles, was withdrawn, and this club or firm about furnished all the strength of the Turf Congrats tracks, composed of the following clubs: St. Louis Fair Association, Delmar Jockey Club, Nashville Jockey Club, Newport Jockey Club, Highland Park Jockey Club Detroit. The trouble seemed to originate in the assignment of dates, which docs not seem practical over the territory covered by thaBe variouB organizations. Chicago, will not ba dictated to and will vary likely open the season of 1902 some time in the month of April. St. Louis will also, with her three tracks, want to open one of them about tha same time, and both of these cities will give continuous racing from then on to the middle of November. Cella, Adler r Tilles built tha Delmar race track in St. Louis, and when they realized they could not get dates from the Western Jockey Club they purchased the Fair Grounds and organized tha. movpment-against the" Western Jockey Club. They enlisted the good will of many horsemen, who cast their lot with tham. They made such a good fight that today, if rumor be true, they are to ba recognized and admitted with a representative to tho Western Jockey Club. If they do dasert the other organization they will certainly leave it in a bad way. In fact it would seem that the other clubs must bow their heads to the power and race under the rules of the Western Jockey Club, if they race at all. The St. Louis management must realize the strength of the Western Jockey Club. Surely the conqueror would not surrender to the conquered. They fought a brave battle, but probably think like many other good generals that they had better make terms while they can without getting hurt than to go on with the chance to lose all. They may not be as strong as they were a year ago, and if success goes for anything, tha Western Jockey Club is much stronger than it was when organized some nine or ten montliB ago. There is no danying its strength. Few are the horsemen who disqualified themselves last spring that would not ba glad to be in good standing again with this body, and it is only pride that keeps the majority from asking. The Western Jockey Club can do much good by allowing no club under its jurisdiction to give a race of less than 00 added by the club. As to the date assignments, the jockey clubs of each city should be the best judges of tne number of days they should have and what dates they wish to give their meeting. In cities where more than one track is in operation under the sanction of tha Western Jockey Club they should agree among themselves about the dates and the Jockey Club grant the dates as agreed, and if they cannot agree then the Western Jockey Club should divide the dateB as they think juBt. To treat the horsemen fair, there should not be less than two race meetings in progress after the 1st of May, and after the 1st of June three. There are probably 3,500 horsea preparing to race in the west next seaeou. Of this number about 750 will bo ready to race the 1st of April, 1,500 the 1st of May, and about 2,500 tho 1st of June. Few racetracks in tha west can accommodate 1,000 head of horses, and as six races a day is the average program, if there is over 1,500 head at any track, many of tha stables will not ba able to make expanses, and in many caBea can not even get to start a horse, yet have them ready and be anxious to run. OOMXINUBD OX SECOND tAOM. A SUGGESTION FROM MEMPHIS. Continued from first page. The Western Jockey Club should Btrive to have pure racing and force the clubs to hang up good purses, make racing clean and high claeB, grant license to clubs that will give only the right kind of racing nothing less than 00 added to any event, and that race Btrictly under the rules of the Western Jockey Club. The American Turf Congreas was destroyed on account of the ill feeling caused by that or-ganization trying to assign open dates to various clubs. It does not seem practical or possible to do justice to horsemen and clubs and confine racing to one track after tha season is, thoroughly o.pan. t
