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on the Turf Boston to Have New Track Race Tracks Must Co -Operate Westrope Proves His Ability New York Rule Changes Sensible With Rockingham Park in New Hampshire doing an enormous business, most of f which comes from Boston, and with Nar-ragansett Park in Rhode Island soon to d spring into activity and drawing most of f its patronage from Boston, the Massachusetts lawmakers could do nothing else but provide for legalized betting. Now there will be a race track in Boston and some of the cash now flowing into New Hampshire I and due to move into Rhode Island will be held in Massachusetts next season. Leading Massachusetts sportsmen have been I striving for a mutuel bill for several years, V but they were not successful in their efforts s until New Hampshire and Rhode Island promoters i- had beaten them to the punch. With a track on the outskirts of Boston, that center of the country will have a lot of racing, perhaps too much. If the owners s ,of the three associations are wise, they will II get together on a program of dates that t will not see too much racing. Lou Smith, i, the big gun of Rockingham, suggests a season of a hundred days, which, if equally v divided, would mean thirty-three days at each park. That may not be too much as s long as business conditions in that area are favorable, as they apparently are now. The season could be divided to give each of the three tracks a principal holiday like Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. Race tracks all over the country have found these days their best without offering an attraction of major importance. The persons who can be expected to build the Boston track are those who led the fight for a betting law and include the sponsors of the Eastern Horse Club, which for many years has held a hunts meeting at Brook-line. Bayard Tuckerman, John R. Ma- a comber and Sumner Pingree are among the leaders. Another in the fight for a betting bill was the late Fred F. Field, a trotting horse devotee, but never-the-less a good friend of the runners. Under such men, there may be another such track as Belmont Park, Hialeah, Saratoga and Arlington Park, in which profits are made solely to be put back into the sport. Until he drew a five day suspension for rough riding. Jack Westrope was the leading jockey at Arlington Park and when he returns to the saddle he only has to show the same form to keep in the running for principal honors during the meeting. The main rivals of the Montana lad are Eddie Arcaro and Wayne Wright, both of whom drew up on Westrope since the latter has been on the ground. With the meeting not yet half over, Westrope had scored with seventeen mounts, which wgave him an average of better than one a day. This is a good record in view of the fact that he has been pitted against such capable lads .as Arcaro, Wright, Earl Steffen, Don Meade, Allen Tipton and L Balaski and such promising youngsters as Paul Keester and Willie Hanka. Westrope went begging for attractive work last winter, after he lost his apprentice allowance, but Ben Jones, who trains the extensive stable of Thomas C. Worden, Chicago sportsman, saw the boys possibilities and; was successful in obtaining his contract from O. L. Foster. Since Westrope has gone . merrily on, winning races against the best Continued on twenty-sixth page. _ ° s * J c j i t , • , , . : I , , i . , . . • L • HERE AND THERE ON THE TURF i Continued from second page. — — i _____— — riders in the business. He will continue to do so, because he is a good horseman and with more strength and experience he is able to put up a powerful finish. This i was the only asset he lacked as an apprentice. Worden didnt have to pay a very fancy price for Westropes contract, but whatever it was it has been proven too cheap. Stewards of The Jockey Club are to be praised for the recent changes they made in the rules of racing. Many of the changes have been long advocated, in fact, so long there were grave doubts anything would ever be done about them by the 250 Park Avenue organization. However, The Jockey Club must lend an attentive ear to the New York State Racing Commission and members of the latter might have dropped a slight hint here and there regarding these 1 changes. One of the most important alterations is that to the rule governing disqualifications. The old rule said that a horse ; must be disqualified if he impeded another, - but now the disqualification is left to the ! discretion of the stewards. This will permit : the officials to allow a placing to stand if • the offending horse was much the Best in 1 the race. Also, no longer may John Cavanagh order f money refunded on bets made on horses • that run away after they reach the track, . as a new rule has been written providing I that a horse is officially a starter when he • leaves the paddock. The racing secretary s s job also is made easier, as he will be allowed 1 to offer more than one overnight event at t less than one mile after May 31 if he runs 1 into difficulties in filling his program. He 5 must, however, have permission of the stew- - ards. Still another good change was that t which prevents "Sonny" Workman from i riding against Alfred Robertson when either r is. on a mount owned by their contract em-, - ployer, C. V. Whitney, or any other two 0 jockeys connected with one stable.
