view raw text
AMERICAN HORSES UNFAIRLY TREATED. Lord Durham Pays Tribute to American Trainers in Advocating New Rule. London. Eng.. July 12 The minutes of the meeting of the Jockey Club, held July 1. have just been pumishcd. At that meeting the .Tockev Club adopted a rule that "no weight shall be allotted to anv horse in a handicap until lie has run three times in the United Kingdom." The minutes show that Lord Durham. In a long speech proposing the now rule, cited numerous cases, mostly American, in its support. He considered that the management, training and running of American horses this year has been absolutely above reproach. It was not the fault of the owners of the horses or the jockeys that the handicappor did not know how to weight the horses, but the fault of the Jockey Club, because it allowed handi-eappers to adjust weights for horses they had never seen. In his opinion, the American horses this year had Iieen strongly and wonderfully handicapped. lie then instanced numerous cases in which, he said, handlcappers had either taken the American form or had merely guessed, and he declared that he regarded this kind of handicapping a pure farce. Lord Rrassey. Mr. iRothschild and others opposed the rule. They thought the fact that the handlcappers had been lenient did not lustifv the new and troublesome rule. Sporting Life also strongly opiioses the rule, which still needs ratification at the next meeting of the club.
