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Here and There on the Turf Bowie Handicap Weights. Comparison with Those at Laurel. Exterminators Bowie Handicap Experience. Owner Bradleys Bit of Luck. Alleged "Doping" in France. Irish Sporting Spirit Still Living. There is interest in a study of the weights that have been announced by Frank J. Bryan for the mile and a half Bowie Handicap at Pimlico and to compare them with those carried in the Washington Handicap at Laurel. The Bowie is to be decided at Pimlico on election day and every one of the starters in the mile and a quarter of the Weshington Handicap is an eligible for this race. To begin with, Willis Sharpe Kilmers Exterminator remains at the top of the list, but while his weight in the Washington Handicap, in which he was beaten by Oceanic, Lucky Hour -and Paragon II., was 132 pounds, he drops two and is in the Bowie at 130. Paragon H. was beaten two and a half lengths in the Washington Handicap by Oceanic and Lucky Hour, under 121 pounds, and he drops two pounds with 119 as his impost. Lucky Hour, as a penalty for having been such a good second to Oceanic, takes up a pound and his burden is 121, against the 120 he carried at Laurel. Oceanic, by his victory, has been raised six pounds, from 104 at Laurel to 110 pounds for the Bowie. Captain Alcock remains under the same weight of 110 pounds. Nedna has one pound off, dropping from 105 to 104 pounds. Paul Jones is dropped five pounds and his Bowie weight is only 101 against the 106 he carried at Laurel. Polly Ann is the other that raced at Laurel and she has been dropped from the 103 pounds she carried in the mile and a quarter prize to 99 pounds as her Bowie impost. The Washington Handicap should furnish a fairly accurate line on the qualifications, of these contenders for the big Pimlico stake race, although the additional quarter of a mile ! will benefit some of the eligibles more than the others. Exterminator himself will find the additional distance to his advantage, but the sterling old son of McGec and Fair Empress has been singularly unfortunate in the Bowie Handicap. He has shown by many a brilliant victory over the cup distance that the mile and I a half suits him exceedingly well, but in three j efforts to win the Bowie Handicap he hasj failed. His first try was when as a three-year- j old, in 1918, he finished third to George Smith and Omar Khayyam. In that race George J Smith, then a five-year-old, carried 130 pounds, the highest weight that has ever been carried to victory in the Bowie Handicap. Omar Khayyam, then a four-year-old, carried 115 pounds, so that Exterminator, with 120 on his j back, was attempting to give away a year and I five pounds to the colt that was such a sturdy rival of Hourless. And that was the only time that Exterminator finished "inside the money" in the Bowie Handicap. . In 1919 Royce Rools was returned the winner and Exterminator finished last of the five that ran. Royce Rools had a big pull in the weights when, a four-year-old, he only took up 107 pounds. Cudgel, the one to finish second, a five-year-old, had the crushing impost of 131 pounds and Mad Hatter, then a three-year-old, was carrying 113 pounds. Boniface, a four-year-old, took up 113 pounds and Exterminator, then the same age, had a burden of 128 pounds. That is evidence of how highly he was thought of for that particular race. The son of McGee showed fine speed for a half mile and then failed badly, finishing last, as has already been told. In 1920, the last time that Exterminator was started in the Bowie, he was the victim of truly bad racing luck. Charles Fairbrother, who had the mount, was unable to extricate him from a pocket that had him securely bottled up for most of the way and fifth was the best he could accomplish. That race was won by Mad Hatter, then a four-year-old with 120 pounds in the saddle. Boniface, the old rival of Exterminator and then a five-year-old, was second under 122 pounds and third went to E. B. McLeans The Porter, a five-year-old with 128 as his burden. Paul Jones, a three-year-old under 120 pounds, was the other one to beat Exterminator. But it must be remembered that in addition to the hard luck he experienced in that race Exterminator was shouldering 135 pounds. Back of him finished On Watch, a three-year-old with 125 pounds up; Damask, another three-year-old, carrying 120 pounds; Donnacona, also a three-year-old, under 105, and Yellow Hand, still another of the same age, with 107 in the saddle. Last year Exterminator was not sent to the post in the Bowie Handicap when it was won by Boniface, carrying 119 pounds and, Damask, winner of the Manly Memorial Steeplechase Tuesday, and then a four-year-old, was second under 118 pounds, third going to Gnome, a five-year-old with 118 pounds up. In thirteen decisions of the Bowie Handicap six three-year-olds have been returned its winner. These were Fitz Herbert, Everett, Zeus, Mission, Buskin and Westy Hogan. But in this connection it should be pointed out that when Buskin was winner in 1913, while the race was for three-year-olds and over, only three-year-olds went to the post. Of these thres-year-old winners Zeus carried the top weight when he scored under 126 pounds in 1911. At that time the Bowie was at two miles. The race has always been a tremendously popular one and it has always been won by a good horse. This year the three-year-olds seem to have a real good chance to again enter its winning column. The only one that has been put at the same notch as Zeus, the 1911 winner, is the. Rancocas Stables Kai-Sang. Exterminator, though he has failed to win in three attempts, has carried the top weight in its history when he shouldered 135 pounds in 1920. Should he be returned the winner on election day he will have equaled the performance of George Smith as far as" weight is concerned. And when George Smith won in 1918 he hung out a record for the race since it has been over the mile and a half distance. He raced in 2:31, a record that still stands for the Pimlico track. Edward R. Bradley had a bit of good fortune when his speedy colt Boys Believe Me beat the fine band of two-year-olds that opposed him in the Pikesville Purse at Pimlico, but there is still something of a jinx following the fortunes of the Idle llour Stock Farm. While Boys Believe Me was winning, H. J. Thompson, the trainer for the stable, was confined to his bed ill. Then Bit of White, at Latonia, went wrong, after having worked for her engagement in the two mile and a quarter Latonia Cup, to be decided over that track Saturday. She had just completed a mile and three-quarters in 3 :05 and it was the best move of any of the candidates. After she came out of the work in such bad condition, it was decided that she would be retired to the stud. The Bradley bad luck began early this season. Early in the year the master of the Idle Hour Stock Farm had high hopes that his Busy American would be the winner of the Kentucky Derby. He had worked brilliantly for the race, but shortly before the date fell due he went amiss. He was started in the vain hope that he would stand up, but he broke down badly early in the race. Then at Saratoga Bright Tomorrow, after finishing first, was disqualified for a stretch foul. Later, in the running of the Breeders Futurity, worth more than 5,000 to the winner, Betty Beall, from the Bradley stable, after finishing first was also disqualified. And these are not the only bad luck happenings that have come to the stable. But Mr. Bradley is not easily discouraged and he is a sportsman who just keeps on eternally trying. It is the spirit that is bound to force a change in such disheartening luck. While Bradleys bad luck has been camping on his trail all of the racing season, the good fortune that has been coming the way of Montfort Jones is just as notable. His Rock-minister, after having been the winner of the Latonia Championship Stakes, is now in a fair way to repeat his success in the Latonia Cup. When Bit of White went wrong he turned in an impressive trial for the big race and he has about convinced horsemen that he is the colt the winner will have to beat. The crusade in France against the use of "dope" on race courses has stirred up both owners and trainers who campaign on the French turf until they have petitioned the racing societies to formulate a rule that will afford them a better chance to combat charges of the use of stimulants. It is suggested in the resolution that those convicted have not had a proper chance to defend themselves against the charges. To the end that the trial of such cases should be impartial, it is asked that when samples of saliva of a horse is taken for analysis in search of "dope" there should be enough taken so that th e owner or trainer be furnished with a sample himself. This, of course, is that there shall be a counter-analysis if necessary. It is not thought that this request will be granted. One reason advanced for a refusal is that it has recently been found that the quantity of saliva to be obtained from horses is too small to admit of the preparation of two samples. It has even baen charged that in administration of the drugs used there is some ingredient which prevents the discharge of much saliva even after the hardest of races. Be that as it may, the governors of racing cannot use too much vigilance in this matter. The use of forbidden stimulants should be stamped out for the good of the turf and for the good of the breed, but there must be positive proof of guilt before there is a conviction. Every opportunity should be afforded the accused trainer to defend his case. If it is not possible to furnish him with a sample of the saliva, the examination of which means his acquital or his conviction, he should be permitted to have his own chemist present when the analysis is made. The charge of "doping" is serious in any country. It should not be made without sufficient reason, and then there should be absolute proof of guilt before there is a conviction. The governors of racing make few mistakes when they go after offenders, but in our law every man is presumed to be innocent until he is proved guilty. He must be afforded a chance to prove innocence and it would seem that the owners and trainers in France arc not asking too much when they ask for a look at the evidence on which they are being tried. The Saturday Evening Post of October 28 is commended to sportsmen generally for the intensely interesting article on Irish sportsmen by L. B. Yates. It is a delightful declaration of just what sport and the horse means to the Irish gentleman, and it is a side of Ireland that is not generally exploited in the news of the day. After reading Mr. Yates article one is forced to the conclusion that the Irishmen are not all in political turmoil and there is a great army of them who find time for the breeding of good horses and good dogs. They also find ample time for the entertainment of their guests, as well as racing and bunting.
