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; i j i i i 1 1 i i PARASITES OF THE TRACK Gilpin Tells of Predatory Gentry-Infesting English Courses. A Species of Sleek, "Well-Groomed Confidence 3Ian Blackmailers, Itouglis and Sneak Thieves -Also Active at Times. In this country, where all of the race courses maintain a force of special police, conditions such as those described by P. P. Gilpin, the English trainer, writing in the London Weekly Dispatch, are impossible. English turf authorities might learn the advantages of efficient race track policing by a study of the American system. Gilpins account of conditions in England at the present time follows: The question of having a body of race course police, so called, is often discussed, and no doubt with good reason. Of late years, I regret to say, there have been ca-scs of assault and robbery on our race courses and on the way to and from them. I have never witnessed any of these, I am pleased to say, and my knowledge is therefore confined to what I have read in the newspapers when proceedings have been taken and what I have had reported to me from time to time. When one reads in the papers of outbreaks of this kind there is always an allusion to bookmakers, and great stress is laid upon welshing. Now my belief, for what it is worth, is that welshing at race courses is of gratifyingly rare occurrence, and I believe that the great majority of bookmakers are strictly fair and square and generally most anxious to meet their liabilities. BOOKMAKERS XOT GREATEST SINGERS. The bookmaking fraternity are not by any means the greatest sinners on the race course. No doubt there are those who are black sheep in every class of society, but in that particular sphere which is called the race course and all that pertains to it I believe that the percentage of rogues among the bookmaking class is nothing like so great as it is among another that .attend race meetings and who have strong predatory instincts. We know that it is very necessary for the ready-money bookmaker, who is perforce obliged to carry large sums of money abor with him in order to meet his obligatior should he have a few bad races, to luu a few members of another ring, that devote to pugilism, to look after him when so lade with bullion. We have also, at present, som efficient officers to guard the enclosures am others who are in attendance at the rail way stations to mark those "undesirables who mean to attend and whose presence ir undoubtedly fraught with danger to other: who are on pleasure bent. But I fear the guardians of law and order are not sufficiently numerous at present to eliminate all those who could so well be done without. At every meeting the experienced racegoer notes people whose characters he well knows will not bear the slightest investigation, but who are tolerated simply because they do not commit overt acts of outlawry. TOO CLEYEH TO COMMIT OVERT ACTS. These adventurers are far too clever to do so; they know a game worth two of that. Their business is to know of the arrival of any young "blood" who is possessed of a substantial share of this worlds goods and by devious means to ingratiate themselves with him. Forthwith they pro-, ceed to relieve him of whatever he has. Lucky indeed is that young man if he gets off with the loss of a few hundreds ; it is much more likely to be thousands unless his danger is realized in time by his friends and he is sufficiently sensible to listen to and be guided by their advice. Net only the young are caught by these well-dressed plausible fellows, who are far more dangerous than the race course roughs, ill heard a year or two ago of a man by r.o means of tender years who was well fleeced by a clever rascal who picked up an acquaintance with him at a railway station on his way to Epsom. It is almost unbelievable that a man who was in the prime of his years and who had been about everywhere could possibly be so simple as to be caught by one of such gentry. Not only did .lie allow himself to be relieved of ja large amount of ready money in. so to : speak, quite a friendly way. but he pcr-, ! mitted this man to bet for him and altogether thoroughly hoodwink him by his all-round plausibility. Indeed, the gentleman did not realize the true character of his associate until the end of the second day, by which time, according to the chevalier dindustrie in question, he was in debt to his conff derates and himself to the tune of some thousands. Fortunately for the victim the amount was so large that it put him in so tight a place that he decided to ask advice of a friend who was better versed in the ways of the world. That was the end of the adventure; a threat to put the whole matter before the betting committee was the unpleasant surprise that was sprung upon the "sharp." who crumpled up after some half-hearted bluster, and the matter dropped. If a man of such mature years can be so easily taken in, what chance has a young fellow who lias just "come out," who has the hot and rebellious liquors in his blood, and who proposes to let the Avorld slip for a space and see what fun there is to be got? None whatever, unless he lias a friend or two who will take the trouble, the often thankless trouble, to loolc after him as far as they can. Now, this class of adventurer and others of the same kidney of a lower grade are followers that our race courses could well do without, and it is regrettable that they are so numerous. Without a sufficiently large body of so-called police they cannot possibly bo properly restrained from pursuing their nefarious practices. A sufficient force of police who really knew the malefactors among those who attend our race meetings and are kept specially to supervise those who gain admittance to the enclosures would be a great benefit to the turf generally. But they would have to be endowed with proper authority; otherwise they would be of little use. And there ourht to be no great trouble in arrange-ing for this. Other racing parasites there are whose characters are so well known by repute to all regular racegoers that one would suppose they would be excluded on sight from . any decent enclosure. But for some inexplicable reason they are permitted to enter and to carry on a perfectly legitimate business among those who would be gladly rid of them. Their other activities, though well known, are not so apparent ; they are a heavy tax upon the reputable members of the ring, and not upon them alone. I have not the slightest doubt that many people on both sides of the rails are today more or less frequently put under contribution ; in plainer language,, are being systematically blackmailed.
