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ii • — — » Here and There . it on the Turf . b Charity and Racing. b p Better Times for Canada. f That Miami Committee. On Selection of Names. a « « t to James Murphy, on behalf of the Louis- F E iana Jockey Club, has turned over the a beautiful Fair Grounds course at New t Orleans for the use of flood sufferers. He j. it has also offered the use of 200 acres of • c highlands in St. Bernard Parish, below a a the city, as a corral for cattle and other j stock in the flooded regions. This is exactly what was to be expected I t of lid ward R. Bradley and his associates s I of the Louisiana Jockey Club, for on i t other occasions these sportsmen have J t shown a vital interest in everything that t r concerns New Orleans or the State of I I I c Louisiana. The donation of the beautiful I i course and of the St. Bernard Parish i j tract is only a part of what the Louisiana Jockey Club has done already and but a 1 small part of what will be done if occa- " j sion demands. j Racing has never counted costs when i i there was an appeal such as the present t s flood presents and no sport has given i j more lavishly when charity or humanity t t called. i When the recent hurricane visited I southern Florida with such disastrous s i 1 results, the Miami Jockey Club at once 1 1 turned over its course for the use and i protection of those made homeless and i I It church services were conducted in the e I grandstand and the club contributed gen- - j erously to the relief fund for the stricken n inhabitants of Miami and the surround- -1 ing country. These are two of many instances when n racing has come to the fore when there e was an appeal made for help. It is a sport that has ever been first in such n acts of helpful charity and for that lt reason there is no surprise in the action n j of James Murphy, who manages the af-! f. fairs of the Louisiana Jockey Club. It is of interest to Canadian racing to ° note that the arrangement of the dates !S for the spring racing brings only one day y of conflict between Toronto and Hamilton. That one day is Saturday, June 25, D the date on which Dufferin Park, in n Toronto, closes its meeting, while the ie sport at Hamilton begins. Last year ir there was a clash all through the week k between Hamilton and Long Branch, while this year the Long Branch track will conduct its meeting from June 8 to June 15. And last year the conflict in racing time was a handicap to both h courses, for Toronto furnishes much of 0f the Hamilton patronage. It is also cheering for the Canadian in sport to see that Fort Erie has accepted ;d dates and will conduct a meeting from July 4 until July 11. Fort Erie draws rs all of its patronage from Buffalo and for 3r that reason it is fitting that the glorious Fourth should be a part of its schedule. It was the excessive taxation that drove Fort Erie out, and it is natural to have the reduction of the provincial tax as the reason for its coming back. While there does not seem to be any immediate chance for a harmonious coming together of the tracks of the Canadian Racing Association and the independents, it is well to know that this ii it . . b b p f a t to F E a t j. it • c a a j I t s I i t J t t r I I I c I i i j a 1 " j j i i t s i j t t i I s i 1 1 1 i i I It e I - j n -1 n e a n lt n f. j to ° !S y 25, D in n ie ir k to in h of 0f in ;d rs for 3r i conflict of dates between Hamilton and * Long Branch will not occur this year and it ought to make a vast difference in the success of both meetings. The turfmen of Canada have been sorely harrassed from time to time by the burden of the tax, but there has been an ever-present division of interests between the big courses of the Canadian Racing Association and the little fellows who have raced independently. It is unfortunate, for should it be possible to bring all of the racing interests closer together in Canada it could not fail to work a good for all. I c The Committee of One Thousand or- s ganized for the purpose of banishing t racing from Miami has dwindled to a b committee of thirty-six. That was the 0 number attending a recent meeting held t to in Miami, and one member was a woman. But, of course, the high-sounding name a a of "committee" in the first place did not s mean anything, for, with the lure of a f luncheon, fifty came out to the previous ti meeting. J The committee is still in existence, but 0 seems to be dying out, even though ? some of the members are dying hard. t Just what this little band of meddlers j hopes to accomplish remains to be seen, but one thing is certain— when they are banded together for the purpose of de- * priving Miami of racing they do not re- *t fleet the public sentiment. c As an evidence of sincerity it has been . announced that a sum of between 00 v 00 will be raised to carry the cam- paign along at Tallahassee. This is a modest purse for what the committee is i attempting to accomplish and in the in- terest of those who do the real work s is hoped that their labors do not extend J over too great a period of time, for such bankroll will not carry on successfully for any length of time. From the beginning this frenzied at- t tempt to create a movement against the Florida racing has been nothing more f than amusing. It has occasioned no i apprehension among the turfmen and the j merchants who realize the benefits that t come to Miami from the sport. It has been so puny that it merits nothing but j amusement. : There is a regulation in the naming of I horses to the effect that no name which ] has been used during the previous ten years, either in the stud or on the turf, shall be duplicated. Another rule of naming is that all names are subject to the approval or disapproval of the J stewards of The Jockey Club. ; With all these and various other regu- I lations as to the naming of new two-year-e olds each season there appear many ■■ whose names should never have passed the scrutiny of the stewards of The Jockey Club successfully. They are named under the rules no doubt, so that, after all, the registrar is not to blame, but the stewards have the last say on names and it would be well if they gave that duty a little more attention. This year there are a couple of two-a year-olds racing whose names just about get in under the ten-year clause, though it is doubtful if Sam Slick is really available at this time. The older Sam Slick was a son of Rock Sand — Artful and just about as worthless a son of illustrious parents as could well be imagined. That is another reason for wonder that the name should be revived. The other that comes to mind at this time is Besom. This horse has been off the turf long enough, under the rule, but when the new two-year-old was paraded it brought to mind the son of Ben Brush — Noonday that is still well remembered. It is not a good thing to revive names i on the turf, even when the ten-year rule| is observed and it should be possible to choose names that mean something with-° out going back to the records and re-in viving an old one. And of all names, why should the turf be burdened with another Sam Slick, when the old son of Artful is remembered? The colt that is burdened with such a name is beginning with a heavy handicap, as far as the for-m mer Sam Slick is concerned; though there may be an altogether different reason for the selection of the name.
