Here and There on the Turf: Horses Perishable Goods; High Quest Hasnt Won Yet; Claiming Evil Stirs Owners; Graded Handicaps Suggested, Daily Racing Form, 1934-06-08

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HERE AND THERE ON THE TURF Continued from second page f iculty in filling his program because owners refrained from entering their horses as a gesture of protest against wholesale claim ¬ ing With the opportunities of winning races much greater at the present time than prob ¬ ably ever before in the history of the game in this country and with new persons com ¬ ing into the sport by virtue of the great expansion felt during the past year the demand for horseflesh seems to have gone ahead supplyInstead of the supply Instead of buying young material from the breeders however the newcomers are claiming readymade and fit horses for prices entirely too small in ratio to the earn ¬ ing power of the animals Hence the holler on the part of many horsemen who want the track officials to turn their backs on the rules theyre paid to enforce In Kentucky the open claiming rule was modi ¬ fied by the racing commission to stop whole ¬ sale claiming The Thoroughbred Horse ¬ mens Association or any similar organiza ¬ tion might find it a constructive effort to ask the various racing secretaries to elevate the schedule of claiming races all around Platers then would have their true value in comparison with their earning power and an owner losing a horse through claiming would get his moneys worth unless of course he ran the steed too cheaply which would rightThe have served him right The suggestion has been made that claim ¬ ing races be abolished altogether and in their place would be graded handicap events which have been used with fair success at Pimlico A graded handicap might be a race at one mile and be split into three divisions With thirty entries the board of handicap pers would grade them according to com ¬ parative ability and then split the horses into three divisions each being a separate race Then the ten horses in each section would be handicapped in an effort to bring them deadheatThis to the finish in a theoretical deadheat This suggestion has great possibilities and racing leaders may do well to give it serious consideration because too many evils exist in the claiming system for the good of the sport Ultimate success of graded handicaps depends upon the handicapping but with competent persons doing the weightadjust ¬ ing the races should be wellrun which after all is the principal objective of all concerned It would stamp out the claiming racket but would not interfere with the sale of horses Not much trouble would be en ¬ countered by a buyer in looking for a seller


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1930s/drf1934060801/drf1934060801_2_3
Local Identifier: drf1934060801_2_3
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800