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RULE CHANGES IN VIEW AT HAVANA. Alterations in Selling Race Methods and also in Way of Handicapping. Havana, Cuba.. February 10. — The stewards have been active during the past few days and several riders guilty of rough riding have been severely dealt with. A . fine of M was imposed on jockey Eddie Taplin while Cruise, under contract to A. F. Dayton, was suspended for the r-mninder of the meeting and also fined .00. Taplin was held responsible for the interference which Wizard suffered in his race on Wednesday, while Cruise. who had the mount on Kazan, was responsible for the jam which occurred at the first turn, in which Hiker stumbled and unseated her rider Kleeger. Foi m hen has been good considering the caliber of the horses and the number of times they run. The absence of long distance horses makes it a hard matter to fill any but sprint races and so much depends upon luck in affairs of this kind tiiat it is no wonder disappointments occur BO often. Manager II. I. Brown has invited the horsemen to meet and discuss the advisability of changing some of the rules. He is of the opinion that the selling-race rule, as it is here, is not the proper thing, but he wishes to hear the voice of the horsemen in regard to the matter before making any changes. The rule here prohibits any aH but an owner, who may have a starter in the race, from bidding on the winner. While at first this may appear like a good thing, still, when one considers that it works a hardship in some cases, win re a horse may be claimed from a man and then started back at a much lower figure, the former owner, if he does not happen to have a horse in that particular race, is prevented from bidding on him. Difficulties of Present Practices. Again the claiminr rule confines cl-iims to owners who have a starter in a race and outside owners are previa ted from entering a claim. In some instances one-horse owners have had their racers claimed from them and have not been in a position to retaliate. It has been proposed by some that, in the event of an owner losing a horse in a selling race, he shall have equal rights with other owners who have a starter Mi a race, so far as bidding on the winner or putting in a claim on the beaten horses. This seems only reasonable, and it is quite likely that the horsemen may re-irnst Mr. Brown to have this rule adopted by the association. Brown has always Iieen for the horsemen. He has had practical experience as an owner himself and knows what they are up against in many instances, so it was to get their views on many little things that he requested that they meet. Another thing that is contemplated is a change in regard to the handicapping system. Brown thinks that a board of three men should do the handicapping and. in the event of it being necessary to split these races, that these three men should do it and not one man. The horsemen are heartily in accord with Mr. Brown in this matter and they will undoubtedly ask for these changes. The matter of longer races will also be discussed and something will be done to encourage horsemen to enter more liberally in races over a considerable distance of ground. The rains that fell during the week helped the track wonderfully. While it made the going a bit slower, still it improved the footing and then-is now a soft cushion. The change in the going will give the "sore horses a chance and it is in order to find some of them running in improved form.
