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| i l i 1 | | ! I i I i i i ; 1 FILTH LEVELED AT RAGING Anonymous Propagandist Circulates Mischief About Sport. -e * False Statement in the Guise of Reform Scattered Broadcast — Truth About Conditions. i o— — Below is printed a iMi.pb- of ihe sort of "stuff being Circulated b injur.- racing at this time when tin- aati-raeiag legislation is being roooiaorod at W.ishinet.,n. 1 1 easae from rhlladi Iphia an earn paper as i. aard t.» duplicate many copies for eireu-lation ami is printed exactly as ;t was rereired for what i: is worth: " athmal Beform Organisation, i o Senate Judiciary Committee, Washington. l». c. "Honorable Gentlemen : SPECULATING ON CROOKED HORSE RACES IS FAR MORE INJURIOUS THAN RUM "I" our sporti,,-. pa;, its Were more aitive in eritn izisg crooked raeea they weald be unite harmless, aad if racing officials were more active ami ■ in-.-re crooked home racing eenld not ami would aad ii- attempted. "The i n!y way to rondUCl race ineelings and " ■*■ Ine public ■ run rot ;i- loyal patronage would be lo in-is; oi, ,„„. buadred per ceat. coa bttencj from owner, trainer aad Jockey. Officials shoald also be reancslcd ta support all decent rubs without rear ST favor ami reject all entries that are unfit io gie entire sotisfoction. Maaj horaea are start.-. i :.i races when they are unlit lo offer anv contest and many harsM are allowed to perform mcoasisi ently, running hot aad cold as n,,. owner and trainer may see fit. Bleeders and cripples as u».|i as ringer* sh. aid be eliminated without any argument, aad owner and tralaer should ba nujmnltd ta adhere rery closely ta ail rubs er take the nawaiimam Horses owned by bookmakers, kwhey controlled by bookruuker.i. rulers or agents under bookmakers control is one of the great detrimewts to the sport. Jockeys -:io.;ii i,. lined up before the judges on their way to the peal aad requested ta da their krrel b -i wiih their mount sr lake the roueeauenei coinpi.iiiii department should be established at ail tracks where I patron can file a complaint will t le.ir of being thrown Off the tra.k or alhllinbwi hiimilia tetl. "Nineteen twenty-two racing, if we hare any at ■H, will ee many riots unless something is dear i ■ gire tin- public what it is entitled to. ■ aaoare deal, rombined with clean and wheleaaeae spoit. and many ImUrtaseats for conspiracy lo defraud Will follow against officials, owners and I i.iiii.-i -. Jockcj i, bookmakers and others that are responsible direct Ij or Indirectly for any crooked race pnHed off which can In- proTea by these i ho, en i,. report 0O the-.- matters." RACING AND ITS CRITICS. The ah. ne "poison" was probably mixed iii New s oi i. and mailed in Philadelphia. It has a New fork flavor. I here i-- m more nor as muck cr wkedneos la than ill any i omi.c : ei.i I line. lli-i..ns Work era are in tinm all. Certainly in raclag thej are store roatrolled than in cematt rr lalfatm. Some t-s- ..ipe iii la-ing. many in business. The arcrage racing official is always at the work of Inreatiga-lion and when the evidence of deception is gained offenders are punished. The officials are usually fearless and compare favorably In Intelligent action H h those in other lines ,,! , Sltrol The aeiage race track is a hotbed -.f scandal. The excuse of bad Judgment in speculation is snifiett io other ■boulders and false sterlet circulated la consequence. Few layers uf adds own or control heroes. They reap their reward through Ihe «.m..i- Odge of business vigilance which they u-c a. id pay for. That is their normal advantage. When poisom.us rumors about racing are spread nree i race enure investigation often shows them to be false. Baeiag propaganda is usually as vicious as were poisonous stores spread during the Great War. False ami richws rating propaganda is cur-inland through tile mouths behind weak a-nl ic aoraal mind* the nastiest snrt of rumor rircolatma because it gathers ami galea in untruth is it goes. Bace riders are regulated and controlled. Haw silly tin- suggestion of daily public lectures! Itideis habits, ways and companions arc legularly known ami reported. MISCHIEF AND PROPAGANDA. Facing rules are areragery enforced. When their enforcement hurts eertaia racing corners the scandal of rumor spr, ads io officials. Snch rumors are never Cue. The "ringer" reference is silly. With some four thousand horses in yearly action but one or two rases of "ringing" each season turn up. These are upon minor conraes, which eatable tin- fact ibar bad hemes and poor owners do race over them. an- not sharp items ,n the sport of American racing. Th" •running hot and cold," "unfit horse. • "bleeder" and "cripple" statements from tin- poison pen are merely pari ■ of superficial tumor. Infirmity is not confined lo rue horses and "bleeders" when known are not raced. Hoists by WOTk and contention unfit themselves, and "hot and old" are merely daily raee reams slang terms which ale loosely iis,.,l as excuses for go ul ol poor perf.it Ul.ua e by hones of the poorer class. The thoroughbred horse is nearly human. He is affected by his work as men arc. He often deceives his owners and trainers. They suffer from his vagaries of notion and condition worse than that pail of the public which speculales about him. All through the extravagant and mostly untrue Statement to the National Reform Association there is mischief and intemperance. The closing paragraph about "riots," "square deals," crookedness, etc., fairly uncovers the animus of the anonymous author of Ihe letter, for of course it was not signed. Such mi-chief is usually anonymous mischief. That is the furtive way of the average propagandist. As far as Daily Facing Form views racing from the daily handling of its items it believes, as stated above, that the average regulation ami honesty of turf sport is as clean, or cleaner, than any commercial business. With all the mishaps of racing, the gootl or ill luck of the contenders, individual peculiarities of its horses, and the mistakes snd mishaps of its riders, the average fields of horses respond truly from day to day to the past, figures of performance, and in a large percentage of cases tlni beat horses regularly win during each racing season. o
