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COMMENT ON HILLCREST RIOT. Concerning last Fridays riot at Hillcrest the Toronto Star says: "Yesterdays incidents at Hillcrest track aptly illustrate the difference in sentiment on big tracks and on the half-milers in these parts. Trouble lias occurred on big tracks before today, and crowds of excited people have surrounded the judges stand, particularly when close decisions have to be rendered, and jeered when the decision did not suit them, but no attempt was ever made to invade the track and stop further racing. "Of course, there is this to be said nothing paralleling tin; big spill at Hillcrest yesterday has ever taken place on any of the big Canadian tracks, and so there were not so many disgruntled people to make a clamor. When six out of eight horses in a race fall. Including the favorite and the strongly supported second choices, the howl which went up was bound to be a popular one. for nine out of ten of the bettors saw a chance to get their money back if they made noise enough. "At the Woodbine track people who tried to invade the track would have beeu met by a force of police and arrests made instantly. If the police had made the same move at Hillcrest the whole affair would have been over in a few moments and there would have been no stoppage of the racing. If the police on duty at the track had handled that mob the same as they would any other unruiy mob they would have been doing their duty. "Racing rules are racing rules and the judges were doing their duty when they hung out the numbers of the two horses as they finished and declared it a race. The declaring off of bets on third place horses because they fell leaves a dangerous precedent. In future every man who has a bet on a horse which falls will fancy that he is entitled to his wager back. Horses fall on every track In the world. If a horse bled, as Johnny Wise did yesterday, and fell in front of a field in full career at any mile track, there would be just as many spills. The crowd at the half-milers. however, contains an element which is always open to rumors of suspicion, and that was at the bottom of the mob scene. "
