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OPPOSED TO PLUNGING. J. R. Keene heartily dislikes the huge betting operations that have marked eastern racing this year and ib credited with saying recently: "I am sorry to see the sordid desire to triumph in the batting ring overcome the ambition to excel on tho course. We have too many men in racing as a business. When a man acquires a strong stable for betting purposes he does not begin to taste of the sweets of racing. A cheap selling race has to him the same significance as the winning of one of the great classics, with its wealth of lore and tradition. There will always be the poor third-rate horseman willing to catch outside moneys and live to exist, as it were. He is an integral part of the turf system, but as little is heard of his devious ways no harm to tho sport is done. "He is there for the money there is in it. When a man, supported by a high-class stable and a ready bank account, sets out to make a business of his racing, and when he sums up his summers, diversion in proportion to the total of his profit and loss account, then it becomes a serious matter. The plunger-owner iB exploited, and his fame falsely reflects the spirit of the sport. This unwholesome tendency among owners leads to unpleasant results. "Thoy become prone to the habit of running to get weight off, with a view to insure a good price and a lighter allotment for a future race and prospective coup. Some of them might go further. The turf cannot thrive as a commercial venture. Every man should breed his; own Ihorses, too. We want men who are content to race for the purses and the gratification of seeing their horses win. We want owners who are willing to incur big forfeits, and pay them out of stakes and purses their horses win, if possible or out of their pockets without demurring, if necessary. "I do not believe in aping the English, but there are many owners on the other side who never make a bet. They might be emulated here. It would ennoble sport. No owner should keep in his possession an animal of inconsistent racing habits. Let the public wager its few dollars, but awaywith the plunger-owner. The world should be made to know that the race track is a place where one can meet broad-minded, generous-hearted sportsmen and gentlemen, with lots of bright sunshine and fresh air thrown in, and not a public mart for the promotion of commercialism."
