Roscoe Troxler Real Turf Veteran.: Still One of Our Leading Riders despite some Twenty Years of Saddle Life., Daily Racing Form, 1917-02-24

article


view raw text

R0SC0E TR0XLER REAL TURF VETERAN. Still One of Our Leading Riders Despite Some Twenty Years of Saddle Life. About twentv years ago. in a race for two ycar-ohls at New Oilcan- one afternoon, two of the juveniles engaged in it. Freliaghaysen and Alex, were ridden by hoys, who were then virtually beginning their careers as rue riders. Neither ha I much more than reached his teens, but each was bright and ambitious, and each even then gave promise of developing into a star jockey —a premise that subsequently was fully reaBaed. All down the stretch their mounts ran on eeariy even terms. contesting like real t h iroughhreds every loot of the way. Nearing the finish one id the boys in bis eagerne-s to win and thus put it over on his embryonic rival for riding honor., grabbed the bridle of the other horse— that was the official announcement at the time and his mount. Fre-linghnysen. finished first, but was disqualified. The parties to the episode were Boacoe Troxler and Winnie OConnor, anil "little" Troxler. as he was then known, the offender in the case, was "set down" and kept down for two years. "Old Man" Troxler Still Riding. Today this same Troxler i- riding at Tijuana. An old man now. a- age gees in a jockeys life, and with a streak of gray in his hair. Troxler is making good perhaps as never before in hi-, career, all that wa- predicted of hfaa when, in bale kerbockers, he wa- virtually ruled off tic turf is or 10 yean ago. - ml now. after all these years, when his reputation for riding ability is finally established and he could have no reason lor so doing, he denies that be was guilty of the offense for which be was given two years hselahmriil trass the tarf. "1 was paaisbed on that occasion." said he whea the incident was recalled, "for an offense of which I was not guilty. though with the past behiad me I must admit that some punishment was coming to me. I did not grab Wiaaiea bridle, as wa-. charged and geaeraB] be liev.d. at the time, but thi- i- realh what I did. I tried to null him off hi- bane bf cast earlier ir. the race he bid •roughed it with me. It wa- merely a kid- scrap, and in after yean are both laughed over the incident." It is a long, long time since this, among other ■carnations! epi-o.i •-. de-releped at the oil Fair Crowds track at New Oilcan-, but so far as known this is the fir-t time that Troxlers version of the affair has ever been made public. Finished Horseman in Every Sense of the Word. Troxler is now past the age at which Jockeys a-a rule have been able either to stay or to conic back. and. as -aid. there i- more than a suspicion of gray in bis hair, but as regards his riding ability dd Father Time his ladecd lilt kindly With him. It i- doubtful if in his long career he was ever better than h ■ i- to day. A finished horseman, he has in id- repertoire all that a aacce ifal ridi i an have. He is a past ■aster al gettiag awaj frees the pest, a thorough judge of pace, realises the importance of -aving all the groaad possible, know- what a horse under him has in reserve, and i- ■ strong finisher. Troxler- form, after all these years in service, is a striking illustration of the value to aaj one engaged in athletics, of a right mode of life. It is to this more than anything el-" that the success he has attained inii.-l be ss rribed, and it is this which will keep him in tl" front rank- of riders long after other- who have shown leal ability have become "has-been-."


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1917022401/drf1917022401_1_7
Local Identifier: drf1917022401_1_7
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800