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Here and There on the Turf Swopes Efforts Thwarted Wanted Race Between Champions Too Much Money Is Asked Spirit of Racing Waning Herbert Bayard Swope, one of the most progressive men in racing and one who has done much for the sport in his capacity as chairman of the New York State Racing Commission, has been doing what he can to bring about a meeting between Seabiscuit and War Admiral, a matter that more properly belongs to the managements of race tracks. However, the New York associations stage such outstanding attractions only if they come about in the natural course of events, and the go-getting Swope has taken the bit into his mouth as he and his asso ciates have done in the past couple of years in bringing about many changes improving the sport on the Metropolitan circuit. But Swopes efforts to arrange the meeting between Seabiscuit and War Admiral apparently must overcome insurmountable obstacles, as Charles S. Howard, owner of the former, suggests a purse of 00,000, which generally is considered too excessive by the persons who operate the New York tracks. Both Howard and Samuel D. Riddle, owner of War Admiral, owe it to racing to make reasonable concessions to bring about a rs.ee between the two horses. It is not the spirit of the sport to haggle about terms which have no influence on the relative merits of the two horses. In the olden days of racing owners of horses, no matter how capable j they may have been, frequently settled the question of superiority between the steeds in a private match. When Seabiscuit and War Admiral meet, if they ever do, their engagement should be a public affair, whether it be in a regularly-scheduled event or in a special race, but their respective owners should give more attention to the sporting end of the affair than to the mercenary side. A hundred thousand dollars is more money than a big majority of track operators see fit, as a matter of sound business, to offer, and the owners wouldnt ask it if they would remember how much pleasure they received from owning good horses. Racing in America has been commercialized to such an extent that a majority of the persons connected with it have attained the habit Such a condition cannot help but bring about the destruction of the sport in time perhaps sooner than is expected by the pessimists. Santa Anita Park had an excuse in offering its 00,000 handicap in that the race served to publicize the entire meeting. Probably the track made a profit in its operation on that day, even with fixed charges considered, but that is no reason why an association should offer such a sum to bring two horses together in a special race, even if the fact has occurred before. A very prosperous and commodious track operating with the pari-mutuel form of betting probably could bring the two horses together and earn a sizable profit, but any New York course couldnt do it because of the book- . making form of betting, which nets the asso- k- ciation only a moderate income indirectly. Better horses than either Seabiscuit or War Admiral have raced in America since the days of Man o War and they went about the acceptance of their various engagements without any great concessions being asked by their connections. The present day champions both have achieved exceptional records and there is an intense demand for a race between them, but that is no reason that they should be handled and. managed like a five-year-old motion picture star. There are plenty of regularly scheduled events in which Seabiscuit and War Admiral can determine which is the better under weight conditions with which their connections could find no fault, but, seemingly, the old order has changed and an owner is more worried about how much money he will receive than whether his horse is the best. Swope and his fellow members of the New York commission, John Sloan and John Hay Whitney, are to be lauded for their efforts to bring War Admiral and Seabiscuit together in the Suburban Handicap, or any other kind of a race, particularly at Belmont Park, because of its ability to accommodate an immense crowd, but they cant hope for success when the requests border too greatly on the unreasonable side. The system of American racing needs a great deal of changing so that the sporting side can return to its proper position on top, a condition that would see champions crowned in the proper order of events and in races of reasonable values, but possessing the traditions which mean so much more long afterwards than the monetary award. Poor men just dont own good horses very long, and the rich owners could well afford to give greater thought to the sport of racing than to the money which, conceivably, may be collected in large amounts.
