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DEAD HEATS OF RARE OCCURRENCE Close Finish at Aqueduct Between Claquer and Tom McTaggarf Recalls Many Past Incidents NEW YOHK X Y July 7 The close finish at Aqueduct last week between CIi iucr and Tom MeTaggart and the displeasure shown by many of the racing enthusiasts at the official placing of Claquer as the winner illustrates what has been since the inauguration of racing ti source of argu ¬ ment Many thought that the race sliouldat least have been decided a dead heat Then the question arises Is there such a thing as a dead heat That there have been thousands of Just such finishes be ¬ fore is certain and some of them of course have been officially declared dead heats heatsJtnt Jtnt during these latter days of racing dead heats are extremely infrequent Once in a while the horses come to the winning post so closely aligned tint judges are unable to deqide among themselves and consequently a dead heat follows The iwsl tion of tlio placing judges on a firstclass course carries with it more resixinsibiUty importance and business acumen than would be at first apparent to the casual observer or to one not familiar with the magnitude of the business interests depending upon the integrity of those occupying official po ¬ sitions in connection with the race track trackSpeaking Speaking of dead heats two recently occurred at Latonia within two days of each other when Miss Jemima and Sewell Cnnibs came together so closely aligned in the Quickstep Stakes on June 10 the placing judges were unable to separate them Then two days later Best 1al and Captain Mac ran a dead heat in a purse race These two were tlu first that have taken place in Kentucky for sev ¬ eral years Strange to ssy dead heats seem to be psychological with racing officials and when one comes another generally follows Hack in 1891 on the opening day of the spring meeting at Churchill Downs Louisville Sullross and Itoyal Garter ran a dead heat in t heat race after Sullross had won the first heat This Was a rare case but to cap the climax three days afterward at the same meet ¬ ing Kd Leonard and Convedy ran two dead heats one following the other in a dash of a mile Ed Leonard won the runoff In these modern days of racing few mistakes are made and the officials are laboriously careful that the right winner is declared But this was not always the case When racing thrived in tjie West hack in the 80s persons who were not peculiarly fitted for racing positions were often placed as presiding judges over meetings of much import An instance of grievous error is recalled in the case of the famous lied Light and Baggage race at Washington Park Chicago where the race was given to the wrong horse and bets officially paid on the horse that finished far hack of the winner The Washington Park management afterward rec ¬ tified the mistake and refunded the money wagered on the winner of the race but it cost it a con ¬ siderable amount amountIn In the old days when the judges hesitated a little before hanging out the numbers crowds would congregate around the judges stand and make a demonstration in favor of some particular horse that had been a close contender in the race hop ¬ ing to influence the decision of the judges by in ¬ cessant clamor Now the racing public lias confi ¬ dence in the decision of the judges and is cogni ¬ zant of the fact that opinions and decisions can ¬ not bo rendered outside the judges stand
