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! REFLECTIONS by nelson dunstan NEW YORK, N. Y., May 7.— His name is Wendell Eads and some now refer to him as the number one "stormy petrel" of the turf. We have a different definition when we say that while he is a very capable jockey, he is a badly advised boy who has become involved with the racing authorities. It was back in 1945 that Eads ran afoul of the Illinois Racing Board. There was every reason for that body to deny him a license and they would have been derelict in their duty had they not done so. The fall of that same year Eads engaged a powerful battery of lawyers to defend him before the Illinois Racing Board. For some reason or other, that defense was never continued, but, to the utter astonishment of the people of the turf, his name was suddenly found in the charts at Oaklawn in the spring of 1946, and it later developed that he had been granted a license by the Arkansas Racing CommiMon. Although criticized in some quarters, the Arkansas commission refused to be swayed and, in 1947, they again issued a license to this lad who was still frowned upon by the Illinois Racing Board. This particular act on the part of the Arkansas Racing Commission had repercussions in many quarters, and especially so in Lexington, Ky., just three weeks ago when the National Association of State Racing Commissioners held their annual convention. Granting that the Arkansas commission had every right to their own opinion and to their own decision, it was felt, nevertheless, that they had violated the code by refusing to uphold the verdict made by another commission at an earlier date. AAA It was soon apparent at the annual convention of the National Association of Racing Commissioners in Lexington that the action of the Arkansas Racing Commission, in granting a license to Wendell Eads, was not forgotten. The first to address that convention was Leslie Combs II., then its president, and, during the course of his opening speech, he said, "A committee has been named pursuant to another resolution adopted at the convention in Los Angeles last year to revise the by-laws of the Wendell Eads "Stormy Petrel of Turf? Grounded Rider Gets Brush-Off in Mass. Told to Square Himself in Illinois Capable Rider Badly Advised From Start NARC. This committee is headed by William Watson, secretary of the Florida Racing Commission. The new by-laws should set forth more strongly the first essential basis for the effectiveness of this association, in that it should state that it is the obligation of every commission to uphold the rulings of every other commission. There has been some question as to whether the denial of a license constitutes a ruling. It should be plainly stated in the new by-laws that a denial of a license shall be considered to be a ruling.1 Although Combs mentioned no specific instance, his emphasis was caused by the ruling of the Arkansas Racing Commission in the case of Eads regardless of the fact that this boy was still under suspension in Illinois. AAA As we stated above, Eads has been badly advised in this case from the very start. After riding in Arkansas in 1946, he went up to the state of Washington and, if we recall correctly, he rode at a little track called Play-fair. After that meeting, he went to California, but was told by the racing board of that state to "square himself" in Illinois before applying for a license in the Golden State. In 1947, after riding in Arkansas once again, he went up to Massachusetts and applied for a license, instead of going back to Illinois, the original state of his trouble, and endeavoring to square himself in that state. In Massachusetts, his application for a license was "tabled" and, once again, he was told to go back to Illinois and adjust the differences he had with the commissioners in that state. Last Thursday, Eads applied at the office of the Illinois Racing Board for an application blank, but he has not filed his application for a license, as yet, and, although we are not positive on this point, he has not done so for the reason that he has failed to find a lawyer capable of defending him. Eads is like every other race rider who has suddenly found that a clean record in the saddle pays dividends. He is a very fine little race rider, but he is now learning the bitter lesson that some other jockeys before him have had to learn. Since being denied a license at major racing centers, he has found out that he can make much more money as a race rider than he can in any other profession. As Sammy Renick once said, "It is a much better job than being a bell hop." Eads has enlisted the support of Pat Kelly of the Jockeys Guild. Kelly is a fine lad and we dislike to take issue with him and with the Jockeys Guild in this instance, but we are very definitely taking issue. The Jockeys Guild has been a fine organization for good regarding its members. We recently applauded Kelly when he demanded that a certain race track improve the conditions in the jockey quarters, but we do not applaud him when he takes issue with the members of a state racing commission, who are sworn to do a duty to their state and as a member of the National Association of State Racing Commissioners to do good for the sport as a whole. Not all of the members of the Jockeys Guild agreed with Kelly in going to the front for Eads, for while some members of the Guild thought that Eads had been punished enough, others were of the opinion that they had no right to interfere with the rulings of a racing commission. AAA It is just our opinion had Eads acted like a man and not made threats about a certain trainer, that the Illinois Racing Board, a very human body, would have been far more receptive to his application than they were a year ago. But, instead of going direct to them, he took the overland route and went up to Massachusetts. In the New England state, he was told to go back to Illinois, and that is exactly the advice that every state racing commission should give him, or any other jockey who violates the rules of racing. When all is said and done, the racing commissions are just as final in decisions as the Supreme Court is in this country. When the new by-laws of the NARC are issued, you can bet your bottom dollar they will emphatically state "a denial of a license shall be considered to be a ruling."
