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Here and There 1 2 the Turf on 3 s 4 4. Prospects at Hawthorne. 5 5" St. Louis Coming Back. C 7 Rich Kentucky Stakes. Necessity for Harmony. 1 2. 2 One of the biggest things that has been done 3 for the turf this winter is the taking over of 4 4- the Hawthorne track by ths Chicago Business 5 5. Mens Association. This of Racing change man- C c agement should mean much for the future of 7 the turf in Chicago and, while the Illinois 1 Jockey Club pretty thoroughly established the 2 popularity of racing with the citizens, there was 3 no chancs for the meeting to pay its way as 4 4 it Mas conducted. This is not meant as any reflection on the conduct of the meetings .at 5 5 Hawthorne, but no attempt was made to g G provide for a system of wagering that would "7 be within the law and at the same time afford the public a chance to bzt. The meeting was i virtually betless. There was betting, but it carried a risk, because of the fact that there has been no study of just what method could be employed to make wagering possibb. Now that it is promised that there will be a legal interpretation of the law and a system devised 1 that will not offend, a big thing will have been accomplished. There is no desire on the part of the Business Mens Racing Association to in any manner violate the" law, but there is every reason to believe that betting can be devisad to jieet ths requirements of the law and at the same time the requirements of the public. No 1 lawmakers have a desire to kill or stifle the 1 racing of horses, and when it is found that 1 there can be betting that brings no offense : there need be no fear of any prohibition against the sport. The campaign for a broadening of the turf horizon does not stop with Chicago. For several years Joseph A. Murphy has worked earnestly and intelligently to restore the sport to St. Louis. From time to time he has met with obstacles and disappointments, but he has stuck to his task resolutely and now more than ever before he has reason for bright hopes that his efforts will bring results. With . racing back on a high plane in both Chicago and St. Louis it would b2 of incabulable benefit to the sport and the thoroughbred industry. There would follow the formation of a central governing body to arrange the ques tion of racing dates and a general supervision of the sport. It would mean rehabilitation cf the turf in ths middle West that would be if tremendous importance. The proposition is lr make the sport in both cf these big cities o a character that would attract the best horse; and the best sportsmen. Both cities are eager and capabb of giving racing lasting support and the gentlemen who compose the Business Mens Racing Association are well i abb to carry their venture to a successful I conclusion. There is no idea of racing for revenue, but t the racing must be made to pay its way and it must have sufficient importance to maks ; possible the offering of stakes and purses of a i liberality to bring together the best horses. . i 1 1 1 1 : . i I t ; i . That is only possible when betting is permitted 1 and bright legal minds which have carefully i studied the laws of both Illinois and Missouri s arc convinced that a method can be evolved a that will bs within the law. , The necessity for a central governing body i is readily realized in order that there be no i conflict of either dates or authority, and should there be an international expansion the j turf of America is due for this expansion. i Attention is" called to the stakes of the Kentucky Jockey Club that are to be closed Satur- , day, February 23. These stakes are the chief , prizes that will be decided at Churchill Downs and Latonia during ths year, and the customary liberality is shown when the list aggregates 75,000 in added money. Naturally the bright and particular offering is the 0,000 Kentucky Derby, and seldom has there been a race that is attracting more winter I interest. So many of the two-year-olds of 1923 went into winter retirement showing brilliant Derby possibilities that the list of nominations cannot fail to be a large one and, while Wise Counsellor, Sarazen and St. James stood out in front of the other two-year-olds, there wers many that shaped up in the fall as being real top-notch prospects for the mile and a quarter of the Derby. Reports from various winter quarters are that the horses enjoy robust health and, with training time not far away, there will come still greater interest. With the closing of the entries there will follow the usual winter book on the chances of ths various candidates and, as a matter "of fact, two wagers have already been recorded, though the entries have not been closed. Second in monetary value to the Kentucky Derby is the Latonia Dsrby, with 5,000 added. It is over the correct mile and a half Derby distance and will undoubtedly attract the same entries as does the Churchill Downs feature. There are six races with 0,-000 added to each and, with the exception of the Queen City Handicap of a mile, for two-l year-olds, each is to be decided at the spring and early summer meetings. The Queen City Handicap is a Latonia fell stake. Within a short time the racing dates will be made 1 i s a i i j i , , I known in the various circuits and then little remains before the opening of the new racing i season beyond the fitting of the horses for 1 what is to be offered. There is no reason to expect any changes of importance in the dates for Maryland, Kentucky or New York, and it i is probable that when the plans are completed for the Chicago meeting time will be chosen that will bring about but little conflict with Kentucky. The growth of racing has hardly kept pace with the thoroughbred production, and there i are more than enough horses to go around, so : that conflict in dates does not mean as much as it would with fewer horsss. That is another reason for Chicago and St. Louis coming back to the turf. With regularly established meetings in these two cities there would at once be opened up new fields of endeavor. Racing will continue its campaign to bring the sport to the Pacific coast and doubtless, the efforts of the sportsmen there will eventually be rewarded. All of this would mean that there should be complete harmony among the governing bodies of every racing section. This is imperative for the welfare of the sport. The ruling; of one body must be recognized by all and there must be the same consideration shown in the allotment of dates. Too often there have been petty jealousies between these governing bodies and at no time has there been the harmony that should exist. This is the time to sse to it that each works for all and all work for each.
