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UNFLINCHING DISCIPLINE Necessary to Prevent Repetition of Breeders Futurity Fiasco. Drastic Punishment for Intentional Rough Riding Only "Way to Prevent Suca Occurrences. Under the caption "Unfortunate Incidents of Racing." the Lexington Herald editorially points out "that there could scarcely be a more striking illustration of "the imperative need of persistent discipline than the unfortunate occurrences in the Breeders Futurity of 1921 and 1922. Both were grievously marred by the conduct of the jockeys. "In 1921 the popular idol, Miss Joy, that carried the hopes and the affection of the overwhelming majority of the race-going people, was injured in the race, and the conduct of the jockeys was such that two were suspended indefinitely. According to reports, which we have not taken the time to verify, but which came from such sources that we give them credence, these jockeys were reinstated before racing was resumed, so that, if these reports be true, their sentence was only a technical rebuke, instead of punitive. "The Breeders Futurity of this year was no more a truly run race that was the Breeders Futurity of 1921, and. if possible, the offense against the rules of racing was even more glaring than in the Futurity of that year. Possibly, it was fortunate that the offense of this year was so flagrant and was committed in clear view of so many people, that it was imperative that there should be an immediate sentence passed. "As in the race of 1921 Miss Joy was seriously injured, so in the race of this year Blue Peter, a horse belonging to Mrs Whitney, was so injured as to necessitate his destruction. "The fact that the Breeders Futurity last year came at the end of the racing season, and the Breeders Futurity this .year toward the end, makes the offense of. the jockeys even more regrettable as indicating a lack of discipline and respect for the rules by which they should be governed. NOT FIRST OFFENSE. "This seems particularly striking in view of the fact that the offending jockey of this year had been previously guilty of the same offense, and had been set down for a comparatively brief period for that offense, though the result of the previous race was allowed to stand. No jockey guilty of an intentional foul, such as was reported to have been perpetrated at Windsor, should ever be permitted again to ride on a reputable race track. Until it is known by experience that the intentionally rough riding jockey will be punished in fact as well as in theory, and also known that the racing authorities have a keen watchfulness for the operations of the smooth crook as well as the rough-riding jockey, unfortunate occurrences such as have happened in the Breeders Futurity, and in races in which the betting indicated an uncanny knowledge of how the horses would run, will occur. "There are two schools of thought in regard to racing. One school seems obsessed with the idea that men have a right to race, and that it is an act of grave injustice to take that right away from them, without such proof as will stand the test of the most rigid rules of evidence. PRIVILEGE NOT A. RIGHT. "The other school holds that it is a privilege to race ; that no man has a right to that privilege unless he conforms to the written rules of racing and to the etiquette of racing ; that no man has a right to run a horse or to train a horse except by conforming to the written rules, and that no man should be permitted to exercise that privilege it is a privilege and not a right if his conduct is inimical to the best interest of the turf. "The race course is not the place for the crook, the slanderer, the blackguard or the ruffian. The Jockey Club of England ruled the prince of Wales off the turf, and not all the power of the heir-apparent to the throne of Great Britain was sufficient to restore to him the privilege of racing, or even attending a race. "All honest and courteous owners, trainers and jockeys should receive just and equal treatment as long as they are permitted on a race track. But no man, whether he be black or white, whether he be rich or poor, whether he be experienced and capable or inexperienced and incapable, should be permitted who is not honest, who is not courteous. "The standard of racing today is infinitely higher than it was during the period when Gloucester and Gottenburg and the race tracks about St. Louis were the meeting places of crooks and ruffians. But there is still a great deal to be done aniS the racing authorities of Kentucky have it in their power to aid or to injure the great sport and the great financial interests of which they are custodians." : 4
