view raw text
1 1 1 1 I ,. | I , | i I ,, ANOTHER NEW PROCEDURE Maryland Jockey Clubs Scheme to Grade Handicap Horses • Plan to Classify and Run Them in Races According to Their Respective Ratings. The Maryland Jockey Club has ever been progressive. A few years back it startled the racing world b.v announcing that in future no entrance fee would In- Charged to nominate a horse in any of the stake races offered by that association. Only failure for tack a move was predicted on till sides. Such was not tin- case, howe-ver. for ricut wisely did tlu» oldest of Marylands racing organizations offer the tempting bait that would insure the success of this innovation in greatly increased monetary value* not only in stake races but overnight handicaps and purses. The result was the first running of the Preakneaa Stakes under these now conditions had so many starters that it was found n-cessary to run it in two sections, and BgaJa the Maryland lockey Club startled racing circles and further insured the success of its experiment by adding Si".. -008 to tack division of the race, whereas the- eruditions of the rate only called for one addition of si.".. IMS.. Now the Maryland let-key Club will in troduee another innovation at its coming spring meeting at Pirn lire that may meet with tins hearty approval of the horsemen and public- as well. It is the putting on of graded handicaps, an idea that was worked out by Frank J. I.ryan and at ...! • adopted as a nut of the racing program for the meeting. Rriefly. it means the classing of horses and the hundicappiiii: of them according to the class in which they belong. As described b.v Mr. Rryan, the entries will close at a time specified in the conditions, and it is hoped that the owners with horses of varied merit will aid by making tallica. These handicaps will be arranged in the following manlier: I iut lies. f,,r which there will be no charge, will close at a specified time-. The list of horses named will be- handed to a committee of three-, whii h will give each horse- a rating and announce, the- result of this grading with a time- for declaration. At the expiration of this time those not declared will be- divided into three divfctioaa as mar eepinl in numb is a* poaaible, the division being governed by the ratings. Par example, in the e-ve-nt of thirty horses accepting, the- ten with the highest rating in figure* will be aaaigaed to chiss A. t...- Best ten to Class It and tin- remainder to Class c. WEIGHTS FOR EACH DIVISION. The haiidieappers will then assign the weight for the- three divisions or classes, with 128 pounds the lap weight ill each, with the others of that particular division or .-lass weighted in the war proportion as the rattnga under which the acceptance wan made. Kach of the races t. he at a mile ami the threo races to be run the same day. I hose races are offered with a hope of providing for a needed want to make useful a greater nuui-la-r of horses which ate unfortunately a rather unsatisfactory problem in racing stables. Many awaBfa who are reluctant to enter in selling and claiming races, whie-li seem to be so flagrantly abused under the existing rules, have horses which find a limited field of operation. In open handicaps their allotment is light enough, but the- fait that this light imiH.-t compels the-patting up of young riders of but little ex-pe-rioiico or ability, incapable of doing full justice to their meuata, with the topwe-ights in the- hands of th.- best ni our joe keys, fails the purpose- of a handicap the equalising of merit will, weight. r.v grading the baraea into classes and making Hi.- weights in each class auck that the services of the in.. re capable ami experienced rHera can be utilized it should mean that horses will be e-oinpi-tim. with others of their own class in the hands of tillers that will all but assure no chance for eseaee or . ompluint. Summed up. it should mean the best competing among themselves, the middle, raters together ami the lightweight division meeting those of their own caliber, with a broader range of weights than is possible jn a regulation handicap, and the better grade of riders competing in each division. Kroiiueiitly horses that are- purchased for a big price- with the breeding farm as tln-ir ultimate goal, b.v reason of desired blood lines, fail to race-up to the expectations of the purchaser and are not good enough to find a field of endeavor in the open handicaps. I.ut these- same- horses do not properly belong in selling races, for the reason thai they have- a value as stock horses that is out of all proportion with their value for racing. To put a selling pri.i- oa sue h a horse that would i»- him a weight with a winning chan.-e- would run the risk of losing the horse-. Rut iu the graded handicaps he- will find his level and will have a chance to i-arii his way. Still another decided advantage is the fact that it will eh. away with th.- excessive weights on the best heroes. When tin- good aaea are all brought together t here is found plenty of latitude between iLi; pounds ami 105 to tiring them together for htin cheap purposes. Then the 130-poaad horse- in China It., though he might properly be a 85-peaad horse- iu the- top class, could easily have a better winning c-hanee among those of his own kind tinder the heavier weight. And. of course, this holds good for Class C. A hois.- could readily earn his way from one class to another or could be dropped back into a class of lesser merit if it was shown by his racing that he had been classed too highly. 0
