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THE JUDGES STAND By Charles Hatton More on Disqualifications Murphys Part in New Rule Empire Is On Spot Again Hipodromo Looks Far Ahead NEW YORK N Y May 25 25This This pillar of pure piffle appears to have carelessly kicked over a beehive in conducting an open forum about the relative merits of the two forms of disqualifica ¬ tion rules currently in vogue in American racing Of course there can be no guarantee anything will come of this debate actually But we shall proceed in a fond if doomed hope something constructive may grow out of the discussion If nothing more we find the profound opinions that are being advanced by those experienced stewards who are enlightening us on the salient aspects of the two rules make interesting food for thought The Jockey Club version oldest and most ada ¬ mant of the two deprives a disqualified hoirse of any share in the purse The modified form which originated in the West and is now prevalent in most racing states of the Union permits stewards to award a disqualified horse a lesser share in the purse purseFor For no particular reason let us first consider the New York rule A prominent official opens this session with the following followingThe The placing of a disqualified horse behind the offending horse in my opinion tends to create situations that invite fraudulent raceriding raceridingA A jockey racing head and head with another lengths in front of the field would be tempted to take a chance and commit a foul providing his mount were bet for straight place and show showAppreciating1 Appreciating1 the fact that he could still earn second and third money in bets if disqualified from first the rider might take a chance on fouling in the hope he would not be detected in the use of unfair tactics while trying to gain first position positionIn In faulting this type of rule I believe that anyone in sports who commits a foul act should be eliminated from all participation in the awards The only justification for placing a horse second because of a foul would be to appease the public In my opinion the public would be better served by a complete eradication of wrongdoing wrongdoingThat That seems terse pithy lucid and of unassailable rectitude But the proponents of the modified rule bypass the betting angle completely and reply by posirig a hypothetical case A wellknown and cerebral Chicago steward writes writesOccasionally Occasionally some such complex situation arises as I am about to describe Let us suppose that three horses are driving abreast to the finish Horse A on the outside is running the strongest But he is startled by a bit of paper or an umbrella and veers sharply into Horse B in the center who in turn inadvertently collides with Horse C who is stopping down on the rail railAt At the time of the double foul the fourth horse is four lengths back Is what the stewards must do under the old rules fair and equitable to all concerned Admittedly this does not appear quite pink coat coatJudge Judge Joseph A Murphy obliges 8s with the following from Detroit As the disqualification rule seems once more to have become a controversial one you might be interested in knowing the history of the modified rule ruleIt It was written and put into effect by judge Charles F Price and myself at the Oakland track in California in 1898 Price whom I have always con ¬ sidered the most finished analytical student of racing rules in the history of American racing and I were acting as stewards of the meeting One day we had a fourhorse race run in deep mud Two of the horses razeed to the front fariin advance of the others Nearing the finish a tired horse and equally tired rider bore over on the other leader committing a foul Disqualifying the winner we were compelled to go to the eighth pole for the second horse This did not seem to make sense to either of us and we drew a rule giving us discretionary powers as to the extent of disqualifications disqualificationsThe The snowcapped stentorian Murphy continued to say among other perhaps less incisive things that Ninety per cent of fouls are the fault of the jockey the other ten per cent of the horse Prevalence of rough riding is dependent not so much on rules as the ability of various stewards stands to control the riders There is an old Latin proverb post hoc ergo propter hoc after this therefore on account of this It would be superlative of egotism to believe other sports took their lead from our racing rule in modifying their rules of fouls but the fact remains that there has been a decided trend in that direction directionIn In boxing previously when a fighter hit low he was disqualified Now he loses the round only In baseball only the refusal of a team to continue to play or the inability of the management to clear the fields are grounds for forfeiture If a player quarrels with an umpire he is banished from the field but play continues continuesIn In football infractions of rules are punished by loss of yardage only And so with other sports The renewed pleasure driving ban poses the question of the scene of the Empire City Racing Associations July season all over again againThe The 40 per cent reduction in trucking will not adversely affect Belmont Parks operation Food stuffs etc for the huge horse colony are delivered at a siding within a halfmile of the stable area and may be distributed about the stabling quarters by horsedrawn vehicles vehiclesIt It would be premature to rejoice over Floridas having escaped this latest pleasure driving ban as some infallibly favorable augury for a resumption of racing there next winter we are afraid The North African campaign case of the gas and rubber conservation program was the merest skirmish pre ¬ liminary to invasion invasionBruno Bruno Pagliai president of the Hipodromo de las Americas already is planning a valuable international race next year at the Mexico City course South American countries such as Chile Argentina Peru and Brazil propose to send strings of thoroughbreds to the Hipodromo Pagliais glamor horses will be invited along with tational and the United States and Canadas glamor horses will be irivited along with those of Latin America though Pagliai cherishes no high hopes the North Americas will accept The current Hipodromo meet extends through June 6 with the next to begin in November or December Mexicos rainy season endures from May until Septem ¬ ber Confirmed mudders would only languish in their stalls at other times we gather gatherGalloping Galloping Jo Grossman the Hipodromos ambassador describes its charms in a way which might be irresistible to anyone but we charter members of the lazier arm chair element declaring that Mexico Citys Passo de la Reforma is like nothing so much as Champs des Elysses a beautiful treelined thoroughfare that leads to Chapultepec Park a kind of Mexican Central Park
