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WOULD STOP BOGUS CLAIMS PHASES OF PROPOSED SELLING RACE RULES OF JOCKEY CLUBS DISCUSSED. Several Evils Prevalent Under the Present Method of Conducting Such Events To Appear in the Calendar. By Ed Cole. NeAV York, December 13. It looks as if the Jockey Club Avill satisfy all secretaries, associations and horsemen if the selling races under discussion pass muster. Three classes of selling and claiming races can be utilized, all of Avhich will be nt the discretion of the associations should the propositions to he presented to the stewards of the Jockev Club by the rules committee all be deemed AAorthV of trial. Action may not be taken upon them for some time and the exact Avording of the proposals will not be known until after the issue of this months Racing Calendar, which Avill be distributed early next Aveek. Knough, however, has been gleaned, through general conversation, to see that the rules, if adopted, Avill do considerable to straighten out the much tangled and disordered selling race rules as they now stand. One of the first suggestions is to put in A-ogue the French rule of claiming horses before a race. This is Captain E. B. Cassatts idea, and :i rule Avliich Avorks exceedingly Avell in France, but there are doubts about its success in this country. According to general opinion the argument is put that adA-antage might be taken of the rule bv the high speculator to claim a horse and therebv close the door of contention in a race. Other horsemen say it Avill be an innoA-ation and might help the cause. A second suggestion and one that seems to meet with faA-or among those concerned is for the Avinner of a selling race to be put up nt auction, as of old. and all surplus money, over the entered selling price, to be added to all overnight races the following day. Commenting on this rule friends of the Jockey Club broached On the subject, believed this change would do much to clarify the situation and create more consistent racing as the purses at times Avould be greatly increased by the adding of surplus money. It AA-ould also eliminate the entry of many bad horses in races, which was A-ery much in evidence this year Avlien all surplus money Avent to the owners of all horses starting in a race. Possibly the proposed rule that will stir vp comment is one Avhereby it will . permit associations to put on claiming races in which all horses can be claimed for their entered selling prices, plus the purse and as much more as the claimant believes a horse to be Avorth. All surplus money in such cases, above the entered price and the purse. Avill revert to the association and be added to the overnight purses the day following. If this rule should be adopted it will put a decided check on friendly claims in races, Avhich haA-e done much to upset the good intent of the old claiming clause in selling races. Heretofore the friendship between some horsemen has, illegijimately, caused the manipulation of claims to such an extent that a legitimate claimant for a horse has been shut out through a preponderance of claims. Under the proposed rules n claimant can bid more than the entered price and purses, and in such case the "friendly claims," unless any one of them exceeded the legitimate claimant in the price offered, AA-ould be A-oid. As all the bids will be sealed the owner of a horse and his friends will be somewhat at sea on the question of "how much to bid." Again it is doubtful if there will be as many friends around as usual avIio Avill be Avilling to dip into their pockets to protect another mans horse Avhen all surplus money will be practically confiscated. The adoption of this rule Avould surely minimize the friendly claiming in races which lias been a bugaboo to all racing officials since the scheme AA-as nosed out by horsemen to protect themselves in an illegitimate Avay. This is the first effort that has been made in many years to revise the claiming part of a selling race or claiming race rule. It has been abused on e-ery track in this country, but the proposition that will come before the Jockey Club on this question, if adopted, will do much to eliminate the juggling of a rule by OAvners Avhen opportunity has been presented or defense necessary. Judge Sheridan Clark believes the rule one of the best offered in recent yenrs to improve the standing of the sport nnd to close an avenue for collusion Avhich officials have rarely been able to oA-ercome by inability to gather sufficient evidence to take action.
