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COMPUTING RACE VALUES English Jockey Club Adopts New-Rule Covering Same. In All Cases Foreign Money Is to 15c Estimated at Face Value, With No Allowances for Flnctuations. In England early in the present month the Jockey Club adopted a rule prescribing how the values of races won by horses in other countries shall be computed. These computations shall take no account of temporary fluctuations, either in the lines of depreciation or appreciation. In all cases foreign money is to be estimated at its face par value. In effect this rule is identical with the rule of the Jockey Club of New York. This English rule now reads: 117. In estimating the amount a horse has won in any one or more races account shall be taken of all cups or moneys, whether derived from stakes, bonus, or any other source, gained- by him for his owner or for any other person, deducting only his own stake and entrance. For the purpose of calculating the value of races run out of the United Kingdom the following rates of exchange will be used: tT. S. Dollar 5 to the 1 5 " " Canadian Dollar French Franc 25 " " J.elKi.ia Franc .. 25 " " Italian Lira 25 " " Spanish Peseta 25 " " Egyptian Piastre 100 " " Indian Rupee 10 " Argentine Dollar 5 " The par of exchange will be made use of in calculating the value of races run in countries not mentioned. Comparatively, the New York Jockey Clubs rule says: B. In estimating foreign -winnings the equivalent values in dollars shall be as follows I Pound Sterling shall tie equivalent to ...00 I Filipino Peso " " " " 50 1 " " Franc .-. .20 I Lire " " " " 20 I Mark " " " 25 t Itfuble " " " " 50 I Austrian Crown " " " 21 " " " I Peseta 17 C. The value of prizes not in money must be advertised in the conditions and be estimated in the value of the race. SrAISII TESETA DIFFERENCE. So far as the pound, dollar, franc and lire are concerned, these values are identical, but the English rule rates the Spanish peseta at twenty cents, while the New York rule places its par at seventeen cents. The theory of some writers that in computing foreign values, the daily fluctuations of purchasing power of national money units, should be used, was not lost sight of and was rejected. In the preliminary discussion of the new rule and its purposes this was clearly brought out when Lord Hamilton of Dalzell said that the stewards thought it would be a convenience to all concerned, and would prevent misunderstanding, if there was a definite rule laying down the rate of exchange to be used in calculating the value of races run overseas. In drawing up the proposed addition to Rule 117 they had adhered closely to the practice which had always been followed by the club, and had adopted the par of exchange as the basis. This was admittedly a standard which differed materially from the present value of the pound sterling when expressed in the currency of certain foreign countries, but they considered it the only possible standard, and were confident that, by adopting it, substantial justice would be done as between horses which won races in this country and those which won races abroad. He thought this would be clear if they considered what was the object of having penalties, allowances and races confined to horses that had not won a specified sum. The object of these things was to establish a rough arid ready classification of horses, the idea being that, as a rule, it took a better horse to win a 1,000 race than it did to win a 200 one. If they looked at the matter in that way and compared the value of stakes run for, say in France, with the value of the stakes run for here, they would find that the class of horse that won a 25,000 francs race in France was more nearly equivalent to the class of horse that won a 1,000 race here than it was to the class of horse that won a 300 race here, though the latter sum 300 was,, at the moment, approximately the value of 25,000 francs. FOR CONVENIENCE SAKE. "The Societe dEncouragement had a rulo oh much the same lines as what was now proposed, in which 25 francs was adopted as the equivalent of the pound. "As a matter of convenience, the nearest round number to the par of. exchange was given as the rate to be used in calculating the value of races Avon in the nine countries with which they were most likely to have to deal. The reason for this was that the par of exchange often ran into several places of decimals ; for instance, the par value of pound sterling in francs was not 25, but 25.225. For the money of countries not mentioned the par of exchange would be used. "The object of the note at the end of the rule was to call- the attention of foreign owners to the method of calculating the value of races under the Rules of the Club. This differed materially from the method auopted in some countries. In France, for example, the value of cups or "objets dart" was not taken into account, nor were any sums paid to the breeder. The stewards hoped that, by inserting this note, foreign owners would be prevented from making mistakes that might result in the disqualification of their horses a contingency which the Club would greatly regret.
