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Here and There on the Turf Loose Tongues in Scandal. Possible Additions to Racing. Busters Rush Into Prominence. Words About Bo McMillan. The Thoroughbred Market. While the lawmakers of racing are considering turf reforms there is one matter they might do well to consider seriously. This is the proper punishment for "loose talk." No sport in the world is better policed than is racing, and yet there is no sport that is more maligned by the very men who should be its stanchest supporters. Too often one hears unsupported intimations of fraud on the part of both jockeys and trainers, and it would be well if this could be stamped out for all time. To the uninitiated charges of pulling and doping must create a doubt of the honesty of anyone on the turf. When such a charge is made there should be at once demanded a substantiation or the immediate expulsion of the one guilty of the scandal-mongering. At Saratoga one trainer was disciplined because he had charged that a rider had pulled his horse. He was utterly unable to make the charge stand up and he was lucky indeed to escape with a reprimand. But the reprimand will surely make him a bit more careful in the future. But how many underground suggestions are there that go unchallenged. If a closer watch could be kept on these incendiary individuals who are too prone to voice their suspicions in public a great . good would be done for racing. Those who know the turf know how little truth there is in nearly a hundred per cent of the charges that are made. But there are others who do not know the turf who hear the scandalous talk and swallow them at face value. It would not take long to hush the loose talk if, when such a charge was made, a substantiation was demanded under penalty of expulsion from racing. The thoroughbred is valuable in proportion to his earning capacity, and the many rich stakes that have been added to former offerings by almost every association have been reflected in the new and enhanced value of the horse. Then with new tracks being opened in various sections of the country it is in a way promised that the American turf is just entering a new era of mounting prosperity. With the possibility of racing being restored to Chicago, St. Louis and California, a great gain will have been accomplished. The manner in which it is intended to bring the sport back to these once important racing fields suggests that it will be brought back on a high plane that cannot fail. Kentucky has a new track or two, and now up in the Province of Quebec the sportsmen will have a new mile course that will be under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Racing Associations and, accordingly, fathered by the recognized " " i T" governing body on the other side of the great lakes. All that now remains is to see to it that this new racing, as well as that we have already, is conducted along lines that can bring no reproach. Buster ran a mile in 1:37 at Churchill Downs Thursday. It caused little if any excitement. Yet it is not long ago that the first mile in 1 :37 was run in a race over an American race track. Bonne Chance was the first to accomplish the feat at the Santa Anita track, near Los Angeles, CaL, on January 18, 1914. Since then the mile has been run ten times in 1 :37 and on thirty-seven occasions in faster time. When it is taken into consideration that between the years 1914 and 1921, inclusive, over 40,000 races have been run, a mile in 1:37 or better is indeed a rare occurrence. This year five mile races have been run in faster time than 1 :37, Mad Hatter, Snob n., Grey Lag, Whiskaway and Exodus being the smashers to perform such feats, while Kai-Sang and Buster are the only two to equal that time. So it can readily be seen that Busters performance Thursday was one of exceptional brilliance. Seldom does an ordinary horse run a mile in such fast time. Undoubtedly Buster is above the ordinary. It will be interesting to watch and see how much above the ordinary. It may be demonstrated that T. J. Pender-gast made no mistake when he purchased Bo McMillan from Max Hirsch at Saratoga. The son of Ballot and Nettie Hastings proved his worth when he won the Sanford Memorial Stakes, and now he has been training for the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes in a fashion to make him one of the dangerous eligibles for that race. Of course, in this mile race, he will be meeting better horses than those he beat in the Sanford Memorial, but he will be favored by the longer route, judging from his way of going. Early in the spring Max Hirsch considered Bo McMillan as probably the best two-year-old in his string, and his racing has pretty well borne out the estimate of that shrewd horseman. The condition of the thoroughbred industry just now is forcibly brought home in a consideration of the sales that were conducted by the Fasig-Tipton Company at Saratoga during August. In all there were 580 head sold for a total of ,424,800, making the average ,-456.55. This is an exceedingly high average and, what was remarkable in each consignment, was the even quality of the offerings. There were few sensational prices paid, but all the presumably good ones brought high prices. No better barometer of the turf can be had than the thoroughbred market.
