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Here and There on the Turf Good Jefferson Park Rule. Something About Added Starters. American Nominations Abroad. One of the track rubs at Jefferson Park that is to be commended reads: "No horse shall be entered in two races on one day, unless one is a sweepstakes." The reason for such a rule is obvious. It prevents the entering of the same horse two or three times in one day, when possibly there is no intention of sending him to the post in any race. The horse may be used for the purpose of scaring out contention in favor of one of the other starters. This is a practice that has been all too common about New York, as well as some of the other summer tracks. A horse of high class is named among a lot of selling platers, of which he is easily master. Other trainers do not care to run after him and one after another thej- declare out until the race is weeded of most of the best ones, then this high class horse himself is scratched. Frequently this has been done. It is within the rules of the Jockey Club and it would seem that something like the Jefferson Park rule would help some to stamp out the practice. Of course the stake horse could still be used to scare contention from one race, as formerly, but it would limit his field of endeavor to one race. When a good horse is entered with no intention of starting, it not only brings about the withdrawal of others that would have made it a good contest, but it also cheats the public, for the reason that when the entries are published the crowd is attracted by the promise of seeing a Kai-Sang, Lucky Hour, Whiskaway, Exterminator, or other champion in action, and it is not fair that not one of them puts in an appearance. There is a reason for the added starter not being anything like a reprehensible practice. It is only possible to have added starters in stake races, while the scratching comes in every race that is framed. It would be impossible to frame a rule that would prohibit added starters that would be practicable. Such a rule would mean that in stake races traiu ers would probably name all of their eligible! and the programs would have to be published in two or three volumes. Such a rule would make necessary and imperative wholesale scratching. No trainer with a horse that was anywhere near ready, but would name him through the entry box. It costs no more. There is no fee for dropping a horses name into the entry box, but with a prohibition against the added starter, he would have to be named through the entry box to retain his eligibility. The confusion that would follow is easily understood. Secretaries would at once be accused of padding their programs. The adding of horses to stake races and that is the only race in which they may be added is sometimes annoying and it is a practice that should be discouraged, but it is impossible to. rule against such a procedure. There is room for improvement in the scratch rule and that is of much more importance than the occasional adding of a horse to a stake race. Most tracks have scratch rules that prohibit scratching below a certain number, without the consent of the stewards. This is an excellent provision and it does away with much of the complaint that programs are not carried out as published. This is also a rule that discourages the entering of horses not intended to start. The stewards will never give permission to scratch below the fixed number, unless the trainer desiring to withdraw his horse can show that it is unfit While it is a notable number of nominations American sportsmen have made in the English classics, it would be well for the American breeding interests if more of them were of American stock. Most of these nominations are of foreign bred horses. John E. Madden is an exception and the Willis Sharpe Kilmer entries were bred in this country from foreign stock. Foxhall Keene with Top Boot represents a strong American strain on the dams side, for Puss in Boots, the dam of Top Boot, is a daughter of Peter Pan. Mr. Mad-dens nominations are the progeny of Hessian, Star Shoot, Friar Rock and Ormondale, which were bred in this country. Joseph Widener is represented by the product of his French J breeding establishment and in the filly Natures Smile he has a sister to the swift-run-Ining but temperamental Naturalist.
