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DECIDING A FINE FINISH. "I noticed." said a veteran turfman, "that there was some dissatisfaction with the placing of the horses recently in a race at one of the southern tracks. Bvery now and then sonic of the public who are not on the finishing line line fault wilh the decisions of the judges. Generally its their money that does the talking. "Its amusing to hear some yawp of the loser who always prefaces his real complaint wiili the state ment that he was right on lie line when So aml-So won by a good big head. Now, as a matter of fact, no person but the jmlges and the stewards are in a position accurately lo determine the positions of the horses in a close finish, and when it comes right down to bedrock the stewards are not strictly competent to say which horse is first, second or third, especially when the contestants are widely separated as they are above the heads of the horses. Take the case of half a dozen horses battling ncse. and uose in the last sixteenth of a mile, the man who doesnt draw a bead on the white line which marks the finishing point on the opposite side •f the track driving the sight from the iron rod at Hie onter confines of the stand is simply guessing. With the judges on a line and sighting as above Hare is no chance for error, provided always, of course, that you know the colors and the horses. "The best method I know of to insure cornet placing is to follow the horses as they rise with yi or Held glasses. In this manner it is always pos-sible to determine what horses are fighting for the lead, and when the contest is at its hottest you have i plan of the field platter accurately in your rated— photographed mentally, as it were. The man who keeps both eyes o| en at the finish and depends upon the saddheloth numbers or the colors is bound to make a mistake some day. "Two jockeys in white jackets, the one wearing a red and the other a blue cap. may lose their headgear. They may both have mounts on bav horses and the saddle numbers mav be fumed up and not visible, as they frequently are. Horses have an in-viduality, just as human beings have, and if you ■rake a study of their characteristics it is surprising how readily the close observer will pick out the individuals. ■Many years ago I remember seeing a man win a good dinner through his capabiliiv in this direction I Iiis man was a follower of the turf and was a student of the horse. He could tell you the color and marking of perhaps 90 per cent, of the horses in training and knew their pedigrees thoroughly. "We were driving on the Ocean boulevard in the arly days of March, three of us behind a pair of trotters, when the horseman remarked as we drove along that the pair of thoroughbreds a quarter of a mile or so ahead of us, trotting quietly under the blankets, looked like Wah Jim and Little Tom. The third man in the party was incredulous. " Do yon moan to say you can tell those horses that far away? he said, with fine scorn in his drv Nebraska tones. • Tea, was the horsemans reply, and Ill bet you on it. " Youre on for a dinner for the party. was the retort. "When we had overtaken the thoroughbreds the doubter called to one of he bovs in the saddle What horses are those? " Wah Jim and Little Tom, was the lads reply. "Something was said about the follv of betting a man on his own game, and then the horseman was asked to explain how he had recognized the horses at such a distance. " Because. lie replied, one was much larger than the other, because one carried a high head and the other a low one. and because thev were both Chestnuts. Then, too. the way they trotted was an Indl ciion. and. last of all. I knew that no other stable than McLaughlins at Oravtsend contained bors. s *. unlike each other as these two. Wah Jim was a big. leggv fellow, upward of 10.2 hands high. Little Tom was barely l.r».l. "Ive seen the same man do many stunts in the same line since, and I know it wasnt an accident that he pic lied the horse correctly that morning. "I never read about or see a demonstration against tie placing of horses that I am not reminded of the •lory of a more or less famous Kentucky colonel who was asked to ollieiate as judge at a small meeting in a neighboring slate. You know the extent to which hospitality is carried, ami finally when the last race of the day was run the nambers were not hung up and the crowd surrounded the judges stand. clamor Ins for he winner. "The secretary, after some minutes had passed, and there was no sign of a decision, rushed into the inciosihe ami found the colonel scanning his program critically. " For Cods sake, colonel. he said, put up your numbers, or therell he a riot! Who won the race? " Ui •! nt know who won." said the colonel, blandly, but a little CbesUBUt boss with foah white feet and a blazed face was thud, and Id know him ariiin if I evah see him, sub. "In the old time days there was a fire eating Ken-tucklaa who raced horses, and the position of Judge was never an enviable one whenever be had l nomi nation in a race, especially if the. finish were el BC or any foul riding bad been indulged in. This man would shoo! at the drop of the hat. and he gave a well known official of those davs a good scare at Lexington shortly after the war. This man, long since dead, ased to tell ibe story on himself. "It appears that be and some friends were having a drink under tie- judges stand, where a hottle of I • urlicn and a jug of water were always to be found when the horses w«re started. None of he party was aware thai the race was on until a micbtj Cheerio* attracted heir attention. The judge looked out in time to see that two horses very closely lapped 1 el already pass-d the finishing line, and that the third horse was not yet at the wire. He was in a quandary what to do. when he caught sight of the Kentuekiaa pacing up and down rartatdr the cage wilh his ban Is in his pockets. " "If he beat me it was only bv inches. ho shouted, look in-; uy at the Mae, who had clambered « to his perch — in those days they placed the horses from a high stand. "That was his cue. and the judge used to laugh as he old how much satisfaction his decision of a ocad heat conveyed to all hands."
