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Here and There on the Turf Congratulations Properly in inOrder Order Some of Man o Wars WarsMates Mates True Gambler a Man of ofHonor Honor Colonel Winn in New York The National Steeplechase and Hunt Asso ¬ ciation is to bs congratulated on the selection of Joseph E Davis for its president Major August Belmont who served the association for so long and with such eminent success some time ago desired to resign from the office but was induced to remain in the presi ¬ dency until this year With the passing of the office to Mr Davis the association has at its head a sportsman who already has done much for racing both in jumping and on the flat Mr Davis has frequently served in the stewards stand at various tracks He has proved himself one of the best officials con ¬ nected with the turf Eminently fair in all his rulings he has a knowledge of racing from its every angle that is invaluable in such an important position Mr Davis has really had a longer association with steeplechasing than with flat racing racingAn An accomplished rider and horseman him ¬ self he is practically fitted to pass judgment on others and his election to the office of president should conduce to new interest in crosscountry racing racingA A study of the nominations to the Pimlioo Futurity of 1924 reveals seven matings with Man o War besides the Samuel D Riddle and Walter M Jeffords mares Montfort Jones has two with Lady Doreen and Honey Girl Major August Belmont breeder of Man o1 War has one in a mating with Meddlesome H and Gifford A Cochran is represented by a mating with his Star Shoot marc Fairy Wand Others with one each are Joseph K Widener with Golden Tassel another Star Shoot mare Samuel Ross with High Born Lady an Eng ¬ lish daughter of The White Knight and Lady Echline and the Greentree Stable with Ballet daughter of Ben Brush and Coppelia the lat ¬ ter a daughter of Knigston and half sister to Ballot one of the best horses bred and raced by the late James R Keene With such mat ¬ rons the magnificent son of Fair Play and Ma hubah has had every opportunity to thor ¬ oughly establish himself as a sire irrespective of his matings with the Riddle and Jeffords W O McGeehan recently wrote Watchers over sports of all sorts are greatly concerned over what they call the menace of the gam ¬ blers It strikes me that this is a misnomer The gamblers do not menace sports The surething men and the swindlers do Gam ¬ bling implies that the man who wagers risks something I resent the custom of honoring swindlers by calling them gamblers for you will find that your true gambler is a real person personThe The trouble is that the popular notion of a gambler is a petty larceny card sharp The gambling spirit maktt sport It is the swin ¬ dling spirit that destroys it itMr Mr McGeehan is eminently correct Time was when the turf had many a high gambler and they were honorable sportsmen They were men of integrity such as is seldom found in any other walk of life but they were fear lass gamblers who would back their opinions and scorn to in any manner influence a result The turf has had Charlie Gates caricatured so often as Bet a Million Gates Then there was John Drake Then there was Davy John son Pittsburg Phil George Smith Riley Grannan and scores of others who from time to time have electrified the turf by their bold operations But these men were above1 reproach They were high gamblers but not one of them was every guilty of in any measure trying to influence a result They would back their opinions to the limit and with a courage that is unknown in many other lines of endeavor And they were fre ¬ quently wrong Such men brought no re ¬ proach to the turf There are still men of the same character who are of th same high type These are gamblers and they are real men menIt It indeed is a misnomer to class the swin ¬ dlers and the fixers with such men It is unfortunate that the turf just as any other sport attracts some of the sure thing swin ¬ dlers but they are not gamblers and never could be They will take no risk except the risk that scoundrels with whom they do busi ¬ ness should double cross them That too has happened happenedThey They are cowards as are all cheaters while the real gambler must always be a man of courage It would be well to stop calling the riffraff gamblers Horsemen will be glad to know that Frank McCabe is recovering from a recent stroke that was at first considered decidedly serious The old horseman is on his feet and about again Mr McCabe is making his home with his soninlaw Larry Powers in Brooklyn and it is Mr Powers who gave out the cheering news of the veterans recovery I Colonel Matt J Winn is back in New York and promises to remain until the middle of January when he will return to Louisville for the annual meeting of the Kentucky Jockey I Club This meeting is to be held January 15 As soon afterward as the Kentucky Racing Commission announces the 1923 dates Mr Winn will begin to get busy in preparing for the next Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs With the growth of the Kentucky racing cir ¬ cuit the allotment of dates becomes a more intricate problem for the commissioners than it has been in recent years It is expected that the dates will be made known before the end of the month
