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MORALITY OF THE TURF i Author Yates Equine" Hero Tells a Story of Absorbing Interest. Denouncers of Racing Ignorant and Unthinking Health and Recreation Surround Sport. In the course of a nice story, "The Autobiography of a Race Horse," now running serially in the Saturday Evening Post, its author, L. B. Yates, writes his oiiine heros impression of tnrf morality in a true, sensible and" entertaining way, as follows: I might say here that a horse loves to be talked to, and most horses will be gentle so long as their riders sing to them. The reason of this is that we have great confidence in the human voice. Instinct tells us that as long as a man sings he is not afraid of anything; so there is no cause for us to worry. It is the same way with cattle on the range. The cowboys always sing to them. Before I tell you about our first real adventure in the racing world I should like to say something in a general way about the tnrf, because I dont think any sport or pastime has been more misunderstood. I sneak particularly about criticism upon the way in which it is conducted. This lias been the great stumbling block ever since racing was patronized in this country. 1 regret to say that a great many unthinking people are loud in their denunciation of racing. They are too prone to allege .that everything about the race track is crooked and dishonest. There never was a greater mistake. .Now,. I dont mean to say that in years gone by, "TTiKl even yetr-you will-not find people who. rA to questionable practices in the racing of horses. Hut I always contend that from its very nature it is conducted in a general way as honestly as any other branch of sport which depends on the public for its existence. .In the first place, you must consider the personnel of the men who dominate the activities of the best tracks. They are invariably men of unquestioned reputation and probity. Racing receives many of its black eyes from the fact that during certain periods some of the tracks were operated by professional gamblers. WJien I say this I do not mean to say that a professional gambler is incapable of racing on the square, because I have met many such men in my travels who had as much sentiment about their horses and as much solicitude for the welfare of the turf as any man, living or dead. On the turf they raced like gentlemen. It is also safe to assert that ninety-nine per cent of the jockeys ride to win. It is ridiculous and criminal for unthinking persons to brand these game little fellows, in a general way, as dishonest. Many of them are either striving for a reputation or are endeavoring to sustain one. Rig rewards and rich emoluments are always waiting for the successful rider. Only a few weeks ago the estate of a successful jockey was appraised by the surrogates court as bcin wortli half a million dollars. BOYISH MISTAKES UNDER GREAT STRAIN. It is natural that these boys should make mistakes; but usually they are those of the head and muscles rather than of the heart. And if you ever rode a race yourself yon would know how easy it is to lose a . race by having your horse swerve a couple of inches to the right or to the left, as the crise may be, or the hundred and one other things that can happen to a horse and his rider during the running. Some of our riders, of course, have arrived at the years of discretion, but a great, many of them are little boys in their early teens. They often go out to ride with their heads full of instructions about what positions they are to maintain at various stages of the race. Very frequently the actual conditions of the running prevent them from carrying out their instructions. It is so easy for a trainer to alibi on the boy. I dont mean to say that all trainers do this, but often, when a man is handling the horses of some rich owiler who bets extensively, lie is very apt to pass his lack of knowledge of the horse or his mistakes in judgment on to his rider; and some rich owners are very bad losers. I have found that the man of moderate means who really knows horses, and who, because of a limited pocketbook, races a small stable is by far the- best man to uphold the honor and traditions of the turf. When I say this I do not refer to wealthy owners who have owned and raced for many years, and whose fathers and .grandfathers perhaps raced before them". I speak of a certain class of people who made their money overnight, purchased a stable haphazard, and because they didnt win every race in which tiieir horses were entered left the turf as suddenly as they came on, hurling nieledictions at everyone connected witli it. The nubbin of the whole thing is that in order to write about or judge the activities of the turf intelligently one must have some intimate knowledge of horses, their riders and trainers. It is best to eliminate the personal equation and judge them from the same standpoint and witli the same reservations and allowances you would accord to anything else in the ordinary trend of affairs. Above all, one must not allow his opinion to be swayed or his natural perception blinded by the fact that he has bet on a loser. HUMAN AVERAGE OF EVIL PRACTICE. I dont want anyone to understand that I hold any brief for the evil practices on the turf now or at any other time, because so long as men race horses or court women or exchange merchandise for money there will always be a certain percentage of those who do not want to play the game according to rules. You can meet these individuals inside a church just as readily as you can meet them. on the quarter stretch of the race track. Old human nature has never changed in its integral parts as it has rattled down through ages. Civilization polishes, but never yet has it seeped in so deep that it penetrated the true inwardness of any man or woman. You can apnly the same rule to animals. If a race horse is born a weak-hearted coward that will curl up and quit whenever called upon for a supreme effort, no amount of training will educate that out of him, and lie will always fail you at the critical moment. There is an average of eight horses in every race. And, whether the dash be long or short, so manv tilings can happen in the course of the running that Continued, on secoud page. I MORALITY OF THE TURF - . j is Continued from first page. j haphazard criticism is not only unfair but also an 4 absolute manifestation of ignorance. e A horse is not a machine. In temperament lie to to is a good deal like the average human being. He ,1, ay feel at his best today and win a race in im-, pressive fashion and tomorrow, when contesting with much cheaper company, he may be beaten soundlv, 1 simply because he has trained off or feels a little out of sorts; or, again, the race may not have been run to suit him. ,, By the latter term I mean that some horses run . better when rated along in front and when allowed r,, to make tiieir own pace. Others- are slow leginners ,j and do most of their running in the homestretch. They race better in the bunch and come from be-hind. Other horses are what we should call inhuman beings, tenucramental. If jostled or bumped in the early stuges they absolutely refuse to extend themselves. But if given clear sailing they will run a great race. Some horses run to form all the tinie; but they are exceptions. ,J I TURF CRITICISM OFTEN ILL-CONSIDERED. at to The term "in and outer" is often applied to of f horses that really do not deserve it. By that I , mean racers that win today and lose tomorrow when pitted against the same class of horses. Critics should always take into consideration the circumstances surrounding the various contests the weights, distance, ability of the rider and, above all, the various happenings during the race itself, because so many things can and do happen. Thev " must really know the horses dispositions and all the attendant incidents surrounding the race before s they are in a position to criticize harshly. I think that iierhaps a good deal of the trouble m in early days was due as much to incompetence of officials and irresponsible and ignorant critics as it was to actual happenings. I have seen a board of high and mighty ones bullyragging a poor little boy who was little more than an infant in years, examining and cross-examining him until he couldnt tell the truth if he 11 tried. And if they had had an ounce of sense, and if there had been anything culpable, they could have walked into the betting ring and put their hands on the man really responsible. Half the trouble arose from the fact that they rarely got the right one. Sometimes it looked as if they didnt want to get him; because, even in the early days, most of the tracks had in their employ representatives of a very efficient detective service, e I do not thing there is any question that they could have been supplied with all the information they 1 wanted regarding the innermost workings jf any f stable had they so desired. f Of course I speak of isolated cases. As I have . said before, I believe that ninety-nine per cent of l the races are run absolutely on the level and that r ninety-nine per cent of the officials want to do the . right thing; because, if you conic to figure it out,, f and unless one horse so fur outclasses the others aS 1 to make a contest ridiculous, there is nothing sure , about the outcome of a race, oven if two or three . owners of the supposedly best horses get together and agree to do a little dishonest work. In the first place, when a horse goes to the post i he is entirely in the hands Of his jockey. You have - to take a chance that the boy is going to "ride to 1 orders." He may not want to do this; but, even j if he does, he may not bo able to. do so. He may l be told to wait behind another horse and so lose a race; but it may turn out that the horse "framed to win" may happen to have a bad day or some- r thing happens to his rider or he gets pocketed or cut off or left at the post., Then the best horse is r ; absolutely forced to go on and win in spite of him-t : self; and even then some outsider is liable to drop ; from the clouds and beat them both, i RACING "CHEATERS" SCARCE AND UNLUCKY. ; The inside history of the turf as regards its darkest , phases would be if written a succession of anecdotes about good tilings that have gone wrong. . It is an old saying that the cheaters live on snow-1 Italia in Wintertime. And I think this is abso-. i lately true. Fevr men who. ever indulged in ques-i tionable practices on the turf ever left enough to . settle with the undertaker when they died. So, if you want to have an object lesson that j honesty is the best policy, just get, some old-timer 1 to tell you the story of the number or men who i thought they were really smart I mean in the way . of stealing something on the turf and over get i away with a nickel. AVhen I said "smart" I should ; have used the term "cunning." A smart mail is . too wise to cheat. . If tliereis an investigation by the powers I think 1 it is a mistake to clothe it with the mystcrv of : a star-chamber proceeding. If any man is accused -of wrongdoing or of comporting himself in any manner detrimental to the lest interests of the , ! turf, he should be acquainted with the substance of those charges and given a chance to defend himself. s Tiie public support racing. The people have a right to know; and, likewise, if any man makes ; c open accusations touching the methods or character of those connected with racing in anv capacity, lie .5 should be called upon to substantiate those charges. J It has often been urged that publication of cer-tain matters regarding discipline is detrimental to 1 the sport. I never thought so; open covenants i openly arrived at would engender confidence in the public mind. The press has done more for the turf than it ever got credit for, and tho-members of that profession r should be made fully cognizant of the deliberations , !, of the governing bodies. The idea of assuming an air of patronage toward them is ridiculous. , AVheuever you havent got the newspapers v with you well, its taps for the race track. It is a tribute to writers on turf topics as a class t to state that their criticism or comment is almost i invariably written in a spirit of fairness and good sportsmanshp. . HEALTH AND RECREATION, ABOUT RACING. You must excuse my telling you about the turf, , and perhaps it was tiresome; but I guess I felt that I had to put the turf and its surroundings in J its true light, or at. least as I have seeji it, before the readers of The Saturday Evening Post. I think I ,, have done so. I hope I have. It was never misnamed " the sport of kings. It os the healthiest recreation I know of and the best medicine to wear the ragged edges off ones nerves. If more of our rich men could only realize what a tonic it is there would Ins more race horse owners. I say this in all seriousness. Half the ills of tJ the world could be traced back to the fact that " men and women are so self-contained, self-centered and completely eaten up by their own eiro they wear i themselves out before the apiwinted time. But l if they were to purchase a few race horses, fuss : with them occasionally and go out to the track on sunny afternoons, get right down to Mother t Earth p and yell their heads off, they would again become the human beings God made them; they would v. acquire a new lease of life a more healthy slant on their fellow mortals and a keener appreciation 1 of what a good old world it really is. ... My master lias always toVl me the feeling when we see our own racing colors come home in front is such that all the money in the world could not ,,, purchase it. Many of our greatest statesmen and prominent citizens in this country have been keen supporters of the race horse, and it is needless to say that the greatest minds in England and her colonial possessions, have always maintained racing stables. This lias been going on for hundreds of years and you will have to give them credit for knowing how to get the most out of life. In Ilis infinite wisdom the Lord created man and He created also the racing horse. Can anyone say that He was dissatisfied with His handiwork? j . "
