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THE LOFTUSLYKE CASES Jockey Club Stewards May Have Found Evidence They Sought Standing of the Two Riders RidersNot Not Impaired by the theInvestigation Investigation NEW YOIilC N Y April 14 Restoration of two of the iiromincnt riders to good standing by the Jockey Club meaning Tolin Loftus and Lawrence Lykc while generally anticipated by the rank and file of racing folk lias nevertheless left an atmos ¬ phere of mystery attached to the investigation The supimsition in the early days of their appli ¬ cations for licenses I eing laid on the table was that they were implicated in some speculating transac ¬ tions along with men who wager heavily on races and that to get at these moneyed men some tangible evidence had to be gathered With this intent it is presumed the licenses of Loftus and Lyke were held Up to give them an opportunity to tell the stewards of the Jockey Club all they knew in this connection The granting of their licenses at the recent session of the stewards infers that the evidence was not forthcoming that would incur the supreme penalty had it been necessary and that the charges were unfounded As long as there is racing there will be scandal especially so when there are men who wager great amounts on races So It will be as long as there are horses to race Hut there is not as much crookedness in rac ¬ ing as common gossip relates The oldest men in the sport of racing will corroborate the statement that there is not onetenth of one per cent of the jobbing in racing as some folk would have others believe Directly a person is successful for a week or two or a year or two the report is spread and gulped down by the un ¬ initiated that he has something on the sport This may be true in isolated cases but it is not generally so and those who give a willing ear to such rumors and reports will quickly discover their informant was in error errorHOW HOW TURF SUCCESS CAN BE GAINED GAINEDThe The successful punters of the tnrf are those who aiinly much of their time to solving the mysteries of races and add these to their sound judgment gathered from experience With few exceptions the man who wagers large amounts on races takes the advice of men who lie believes knows more than he does himself There are a few men in a class by themselves who would not take advice from anyone The late Iittsburg Phil was un ¬ questionably the peer of all men who amassed a fortune on the turf His method was to analyze a race and then outwit the bookmakers his sworn enemies His determination was so pronounced that he wore himself ont in his efforts Because lie was successful he was frequently denounced by those whom he had outplayed and for no cause whatever The critics were mcrly disgruntled losers Phil studied closely every angle of a race before he invested just the same as does a shrewd merchant He tried to read the minds of all liorsemmi who were concerned in an event and if satisfied with his deduction followed his convic ¬ tions His superior knowledge of the value of a horse gave him an advantage which none before nor since has achieved though there are men siKMMihiting today who are what might IMS termed KiiiMrcxiicrts in diagnosing a race and predicting its outcome lien of the type of Edward Soule and there are many more than generally conceded work hard at their tasks of solving the mysteries of the tnrf They have for vwirs been successful operators Such students as these do not cultivate the ac ¬ quaintance of owners trainers or jockeys they rely upon their own judgment gained by experience They know more alwut horses than cither their owners or trainers when it comes to predicting the outcome of a race Frequently owners of horses will appeal to such men for advice regarding their entries in races and are influenced by their de ¬ cisions Such men are not detrimental to the turf The men whom tho turf rulers wish to liar or punish are those who are simply gamblers who rely upon the inner workings and conniving of men whose mental capacity is exhausted when they seek to tamper with racing tools The ruling body is to be complimented in its efforts to get at these persons personsWHAT WHAT THE JOCKEY CLUB SOUGHT SOUGHTThe The simple holding up of the applications for licenses of Loftus and Lyke reflects little on their turf standing any more than holding a person as a witness in a criminal case The stewards merely wished to get at tlie iKittom of scandals in con ¬ nection with certain races There may have been intrigue In connection with these races and it is only by the sharpest scrutiny that such evidence can be obtained Hence the LoftusLyko investi ¬ gation This is generally Iwlievcd to have l een the cause of the recent search for evidence which would aid the sincere body of turf rulors to legally deny certain j ersons the privileges of institutions under its jurisdiction jurisdictionPlungers Plungers of the turf are a great detriment to the sport and their elimination is l eing advanced by the knowledge that they will henceforth be under suspicion and liable to be picked up at any time lo give an account of their turf transactions Kcw of this class of plungers ever succeed in the long run It is an old saying among turfmen Show me a crooked horseman and Ill show you a broken man The same expression applies to a plunger who is willing to be in league with such schemers Plunger Walton died practically broke John W Gates lost fortunes on the turf and he was supposed to receive the most i ositive informa ¬ tion from owners and trainers being subservient to tips of any kind The late Mike Dwyer was one of the heaviest speculators yet he was practically dependent upon his brother Phil Dwyer at the time of his death Daw Johnson has won ten fortunes daysThe in a week and lost them in two days The recent investigations by the Jockey Club may lx a fine cleanser There is a cure for the inconsistency of horses by forbidding their entries as soon as the inconsistency has been positively determined If a jockeys efforts are not regular and convincing his services could easily be dispensed with until they become so Much could be done by officiil to remove the sore sports of racing if they would take the bull by the horns and bar both the objectionable man and horse horseThere There is every reason to Ixlieve the little talk the stewards of the Jockey Club had with Loftus and Lyke lias thrown some light on the racing situation from whicli everyone will eventually profit
