Metropolitan Press Gives Its Hearty Approval To New Racing Era On New York Tracks, Daily Racing Form, 1913-06-03

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METROPOLITAN PRESS GIVES ITS HEARTY APPROVAL TO NEW RACING ERA ON NEW YORK TRACKS York is generally iriendly to racing revival in pro ¬ gress at Ielmont Park Some comments on the sub joct is herewith reproduced reproducedThousands Thousands of lovers of the thoroughbred yester ¬ day gave the lie to tho statement that racing with ¬ out hotting is Hat stale and altogether unprofitable With delootivcs scattored through the crowds to make sure that the law was observed with bxikios and betting commissioners conspicuous ly their ah senco Holmont Park welcome back the tliroig who have boon exiled from the track for three long years And no one who watched the grandstand while the Metropolitan Handicap was being run can doubt that the revival of racing is a grateful boon to those who find llieir sweetest music in tin tattoo of horses hoofs hoofsKven Kven those who railed loudest against race track evils while bookmakers provided the realost thrill at the track cannot advance jwpectahlu arguments against the new order of racing There is no in ¬ dictment to IK drawn against a horse race free from gambling which cannot lie urged against a bass ball game or an intercollegiate meet The inspira ¬ tion which the devotees of racing derive from the sight of spondid animals lighting their way around tlie course is a real and innocint pleasure Anl those who would seek it should not IK compelled to apologize for their spcrt spcrtEvery Every tolerant soul in the community will be glal that the thoroughbred has retained to the local courses And the groat Xow York public is made ui of tolerant sonlp Evening Sun SunHorse Horse racing was rovivwl in XKV York yoserdav i when Holmoiic Paik was lliiorp d and the sayoiy of tlie assemblage was dirinid by no shadow of the gloom that fell on tho ueuby tracks three years ago The Metropolitan Handicap was run agf and the spectacle was as oxhilartlng as of old noarly so Horse racing I a gcxvl and honorable sport no shame should lie attached to the brood ¬ ing and training of thcroitghbrods and the now and earnest attempt to renew racing without any of the associations which forjuerJy brought Jt Jntp disgrace deserves encouragement and watching The object of the IhirtAgrew bill was not to suppress racing but to abolosh the system of race track gambling which had brought shame and ruin to many homes had started thousands of ignorant and weak young men on the path to perdition and sullied the fair name of the sport sportOther Other cities can have horse racing so why should Xew York be compelled to forego its excitements and pleasures It is not true and it never was true hat racing cannot be enjoyed without gambling In this revival all bookmaking is strictly prohibited there can be no public show of hotting Private gambling can never be suppressed anywhere but it will x both the duty and the pleasure of the track managers at Helmont Park who are anxious to re ¬ establish racing on a profitable but honorable basis tc make sure that any private betting there may be kept private Times TimesWhen When 30000 persons journey fifteen miles on Memorial Day to witness tho running of the Metro ¬ politan Handicap without the opportunity to wager publicly on the result who shall say that the love of horseflesh or the interest in trials of speed and endurance are of secondary importance to betting bettingXot Xot in years lias an American race course re ¬ sounded with tho honest cheers that greeted the vic ¬ tory of Mr Henry Payne Whitneys majestic thor ¬ oughbred Whisk Broom II in the historic nice at Belmont Park yesterday and seldom has the beautiful and specious grounds the scene of many classic turf contests hold a liner assemblage There was a large representation of the social ami financial world of the groat city to pay tribute to King Horse and the display of hoantifnl costumes by the women could have been equaled only at the elite courses of Paris and London LondonTf Tf yesterdays outpouring at Belmont Park is an indication of the publics love of the thoroughbred then racing assuredly can live without the old condi ¬ tion of systematic betting Herald HeraldThere There was letting yesterday but it was not in evidence save in private jvarties among women and their escorts mild little wagers which served after one had grown accustomed to the picture and to the band ami the life all nlvout to keep one a wake be ¬ tween the time the horses were at the barrier and when they pounded into the stretch In the dollar stand apparently there was neither oppor ¬ tunity for acquirement of Information concerning the form or condition of horses carded for any event nor for placing any money even had this information come to hand Such Intting Indeed as there was was confined in large measure to tho clubhouse and the lawn where occasionally some very definite piece of information would be whispered alx ut And these wagers as said before were to a great extent confined to private parties Experience yesterday would seem to argue that the siMrt itself is altogether sullicient in this country Certainly moral objections to the sport as conducted yesterday may not IK hold as warrantable For the average spectator attendance at a Dorcas Society meeting could not have had a more deleter ¬ ious effect upon him than his participation in the scene at Belmont yesterday Evening Post PostThose Those in control of turf affairs made good their promise that they would work in conjunction with the representatives of the law in stamping out pro ¬ fessional gambling There was nothing for the sheriff or the district attorneys men to base a com ¬ plaint on onThousands Thousands wont to the track with tho expectation that it would IH an easy matter for them to bet upon their choice but they were disappointed Of course if one knew n friend who was willing to lay n price all well and good but the wager had to IK made on credit with the payoff or settling stunt taking place outside after the races Globe GlobeIf If there was a lingering doubt in the mind of any citizen that racing is popular in Xew York not because it affords an opportunity to gamble but from sheer love of the sport a visit to Helmout Park would have removed that doubt When the bugle sounded for the first race the grandstand rose as one person and heralded the dawn of a new and a bettor era It was the most enthusiastic throng ever assembled at a track in Xew York and there wore no bookmakers present to create an artificial interest no risks taken to stimulate tlie imagina ¬ tion It was simply a straightfromthehcart wel ¬ come to the returning oipilne victim of a temporary hysteria now happily passed away The thorough ¬ bred has come into his own Morning Telegraph TelegraphWell Well Belmont Park has opened with an attendance of over SOOOO Hacing is in full swing And nobody has yet been bayonotted shot shelled or blown up with hand grenades by the militia In spite of all the ridiculous bluff and bluster all the sensa ¬ tional reports from reform centers all the rest of the rot directed against racing nothing has happened If Governor Sillzer had l cen at Bolmont Park yes ¬ terday afternoon hed feel like making a few short snappy remarks to the people who have hoodwinked him into letting his name be used in connection with the Pharisaical attacks IIIKIH the sport of kings Evening World WorldDistrict District Attorney Wysong of Xassau county is quoted as follows in the Evening Journal JournalI I am satisfied that there has been no open viola ¬ tion of the law at the race track I have never seen a more orderly crowd or one that Is more anxious to observe the law I am Informed that there has l ce i some wagering but I know it lias been done along the Jines allowed by the law There lias been absolutely no public betting or any approach to an effort to permit the public to hot Tho bookmakers anfl the bookmnking of other days have disappeared and if the si ort is continued along these linos 1 can see no reason for interfer ¬ ence I have been on the outlook for tho slight ¬ est infraction of the law but I have failed to dis ¬ cover a single Instance InstanceTlie Tlie Belmont Park race meeting is a big financial success In the vernacular of the paddock the West Chester Hacing Association is on velvet Another day like Memorial Day in the matter of attendance anil the owners fund of 100000 which made racing possible in this state will not have to be called upon for financial assistance1 The gate receipts on the opening day of the racing season wore nearly 05000 Tho entire supply of admission tickets was exhausted and at a rough estimate 5000 per ¬ sons were turned away awayTo To enforce tlie law on tlie opening day the Pink erton agency cooperated with deputy sheriffs and private detectives employed by two counties Xassau and Queens District Attorney Wysong and Sheriff De Mott of Xassau wore on hand with fifty men in plain clothes clothesUnder Under direct orders from Governor Sulzer District Attorney Smith and Sheriff Emcner of Queens wore there too with forty detectives More tlian one hundred Pinkortons were ou duty After the races all these officials agreed that the law had not been violated violatedI I am here with my assistants and private de ¬ tectives to ttnd out if the law is l ehig violated said District Attorney Wysong I have seen no evielence of open gambling Private wagers have boon pronounced legal by the courts It would re ¬ quire an army of detectives to note the persons who are betting privately It Is not evielence if you see several men talking In a group Tho law is aimed nt bookkmaking with or without writing and it will be enforced enforcedI I have gone over the ground carefully said Sheriff De Mott and my men have boen vigilant Asiile from private oral wagers there has IKOII no gambling It is impossible to prevent individual letting as it is carrieel on here today We cannot arrest persons who talk privately on the track But the moment we linel that bookmakers arc soliciting business there will IMS quick action actionA A strip of Belmont Park below the clubhouse is in Queens county hence the presence of the Queens authorities District Attorney Smith had instruc ¬ tions to report conditions to Governor Sulzer Mr Smith said saidI I have seen nothing illegal here If bookmakers arc present it is liarel to find them I have looked in vain for persons showing odds or accepting money bets As there is no evielence of public gambling it is impossible to make arrests and I shall so re ¬ port to Governor Sulzer SulzerWe We cant find any bookmaking declared Sheriff Emcner It is hard to prove that there is betting when no money passes and persons talk In whis ¬ pers persAll All I care to say just now is that this enormous crowd proves that racing is popular said August Belmont and that the way the law has boon en ¬ forced today is evidence that the associations con ¬ ducting this meeting have acted In good faith We are opposed to liookuniklng and public gambling and will have none of it itWellknown Wellknown persons in racing on hand for the re ¬ vival included Jacob Pincns now J 0 vears old Charles Littlefield James McLauglilin l E Mad ¬ den W P Scully Ed Peters Jack MoGinnis John Miller W II Midgeley Kimball Patterson Matt JL Allen and E W Ileffnor


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Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800