view raw text
«, — m £ i Here and There ] on the Turf ] i ~ " zzzrz — c That Sinclair Case. J f Canter Back in Form. Scapa Flow Fails. Hurdle Racing opular. , » ] When Harry F. Sinclair, owner of the Raneocas Stable, was acquitted of conspiracy in Washington Saturday, it become racing news only by reason of the now foolish ruling made against his horses by the Marylauf State Racing p Commission. It will be remembered that after some stake engagements had been made for the Sinclair horses, in Maryland, the commission requested the various associations under its dominion to refuse to permit the horses to start. The reason given was the suits that were pending against Mr. Sinclair at the time. In this column it was pointed out that the commission was, to a degree, guilty r of contempt of court in prejudging Mr. ] Sinclair, before a decision had been , reached in Washington. Various other t publications expressed surprise and disapproval . . at the ruling and altogether it was one that furnished at least a t laugh. Now, with the acquittal of Mr. Sinclair, - the commission is made doubly i ridiculous. This commission has placed itself in the position of having, without I cause, barred the horses of a turfman 1 from starting because of charges of an i offense, of which he has been found innocent - by the Supreme Court of the 3 District of Columbia. Guilty or innocent of the Tea Pot Dome t affair, it was something that had nothing I to do with the turf. There was no good 1 reason for the ruling, even had it been i made after the disposition of the case e with a verdict against Mr. Sinclair. Now k with the acquittal, the ruling is doubly f erroneous. There have been other occasion when a this commission has erred greviously y and there was no great surprise at its s action against Mr. Sinclair by those who 0 have been closely following its acts. It t is hard to find where the Maryland State e Racing Commission has done anything B worth while to advance the turf. Maryland has many sterling lurfmon. Mary land is a state where racing has lS flourished bountifully and Maryland is surely entitled to a better balanced State Racing Commission. When J. E. Griffiths Canter galloped off with the Philadelphia Handicap at it Havre de Grace Saturday, it appeared ij that Harry Rites may have made a mistake ,_ when he did not name the sterling „ son of Wildair — Virginia L. for the Dixie ,e . Handicap at a mile and three-sixteenths. It may have been considered a bit too Q far for Canter, but the ease with which jj he raced the mile and sixteenth of the le Philadelphia Handicap suggested that he ,e could just as easily have been the winner r over another eighth. Canter was particularly unfortunate in in the running of the Harford Handicap, on in the opening day of the meeting. It was pointed out at that time that, after being shut off right after the Start, he was last st ° of g ] p y a a at V V C a j c ■» ! f _ * _ e , i t .- ■ £ i ] ] i c J f , ] p r ] , t . . t - i I 1 i - 3 t I 1 i e k f a y s 0 It t e B lS is at it ij ,_ „ ,e . Q jj the le he ,e r in in on in st the field of nineteen, then finished ■ fourth, after having closed an immense gap. The race was verified when he was the winner on Saturday. And that same Philadelphia Handicap did not move Walter M. Jeffords Scapa Flow forward any as a candidate for the 5,000 race Pimlico. In the Harford Handicap he . was beaten narrowly by Rock Man and it * was generally agreed that he would be benefitted by that race and give a better account of himself in the Philadelphia Handicap, but he failed utterly. The son up ll of Man o War has been training well n for Scott Harlan, but it is evident he is n not the colt he was a year ago, and be- J fore he went amiss in the running of the t; Preakness Stakes. a F In this Philadelphia Handicap Canter e whipped several of the Dixie Handicap n a eligibles, in Helens Babe, Mike Hall, ■ Gaffsman, Buddy Bauer and Sir Harry. They will not have to meet him in the , big handicaps of the Maryland Jockey I Club, but it is another reason why he j might well have been nominated. V It was expected that Walter J. f Salmons Display would have his first ■ start of the year in the Philadelphia i Handicap. The son of Fair Play had been working well for Tom Healy, and he was named through the entry box, but declined the start. There is little J doubt of the fitness of Display, but it c is hoped and expected that Healy will r find an opportunity to send him to the r post before he meets his big engagement, i i What the Philadelphia Handicap run- r ning did, besides demonstrating that ■ a Canter is back in good form, was to just ] about eliminate Scapa Flow from serious l consideration for the Dixie Handicap. ] The two hurdle races that were given by the United Hunts Racing Association, s i at Aqueduct last week, resulted in con- r tests that should induce, other associa- 1 tions to offer like races. And the hurdle J i races need not be confined to Belmont 1 Park, Aqueduct and Saratoga Springs, J the three New York courses that are i equipped with steeplechase fields. The ■ hurdle course is easily built in any in- field, and the hurdles could be placed overnight to afford a chance for such racing. I Such races at a mile and a half, a i mile and three-quarters or even two . miles, would be sure to bring about ex- cellent contests. They would be well patronized by the owners of jumpers, and, as an adjunct to steeplechasing, such races would be well worth while. With any degree of success attending hurdle racing in New York it is entirely possible that such racing would be of-i fered elsewhere. Col. Matt Winn has said that if there was enough interest in steeplechasing that it might at least, be added to the Lincoln Fields book, and the hurdle racing would be an excellent introduction to that form of racing. H. D. Brown has also expressed a williug- ness to have steeplechasing at Arlington Park, and in fact, it may be offered this year, but there, too, the interest might readily be brought about by the intro- ductory of some hurdle racing. Another interesting angle to the two days of racing at Aqueduct, was the number of amateur riders that were available for both steeplechasing and hurdle racing. Gentlemen riders are essential to full success for cross-country racing and the United Hunts Association meeting proved that there are a goodly number of gentlemen riders that hold certificates, and have real skill in riding. Raceland and Dade Park will both have some relief this year in being permitted to take off ten per cent in the mutuels, while Lexington, Louisville and i Latonia will take off six and one-half per cent, and pay to pennies. This is the svstem in Illinois, All of this was virtually agreed upon some time ago, in answer to the plea of [ . the two smaller tracks. It was first L suggested that a tax be fixed from the amount of money wagered through the , machines and this new rule is a com- ■ promise that should meet the require- ments. This was made a part of the racing ! law of the State of Kentucky at the recent . meeting of the commission. At the f same meeting, the axe fell on some ! trainers and jockeys and it was demon-is strated that there will be a strict eu-ig forcement of the rules, with a prompt " punishment of all offenders.
