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1 : »l Cassidys Address at Convention NEW YORK, N. Y.f May 17.— Marshall Cassidy, executive secretary and assistant treasurer of The Jockey Club, delivered the following address today before the delegates to the fifteenth annual convention of the National Association of State Racing Commissioners now being held at the Hotel Commodore, New York City: Mr. Chairman, members of the National Association of State Racing Commissioners and their guests: » "I am highly honored by being given the privilege and opportunity of addressing this I convention again this year. "I would like to take this opportunity of inviting the commissioners to visit the offices of The Jockey Club, look through our library and see how the registration of thoroughbreds is accomplished. "For many years I have attended these conventions and have seen a great deal of good come out of the meetings. It is my thought that this is the place to present suggestions that may improve racing conditions throughout the nation, and I would like to offer a few of the procedures that we have found helpful here. "First, I would like to propose a clearing house for racing colors so that, when once registered, there would be no conflict with another state. The Jockey Club has a system that can be used for that purpose and I have samples from our file here that are self-explanatory. Therefore, I would like to propose that all racing commissions require that racing colors be first cleared with The Jockey Club before accepting them for registration in their respective states. Under this plan, each state would charge their regular registration fee for colors and they would keep their records within their state confines with the knowledge that none of the colors issued would conflict with those in any other state in the nation. Problem of Ownership of Horses "There is a problem in racing today which needs to be cleared up and the damage that is done by it eliminated. That is the determination of the actual ownership of horses. It is possible for a man, who might be considered undesirable, to buy a stable of horses, race in someone elses name, and get by with the practice which we are making every effort to abolish. "Some years ago The Jockey Club made several changes to cope with the situation as well as they could. One is a form requiring the certified registration of every change of ownership of a horse during the current season. If a horse is claimed or purchased by private sale, it is necessary for the new owner to file an affidavit stating from whom the horse was acquired and the name of every person having an ownership interest in the horse. These forms are recorded and filed with the racing secretarys office and are checked against the original application that is filed at the time they apply for stalls here. The application contains a sworn statement of the actual ownership of all the horses listed. "Now one would think that that was all that was necessary to satisfy ourselves that the horses are in their proper identity, particularly as these forms contain a notation that they are for the use of the federal government in the event they need the information for the compilation of the federal income tax return. You would think that people would be very hesitant to falsify on such a statement and that our problems would have been overcome. As in all cases when a person wants to cheat, he can ; find ways and means to get by the rules. However, our system has improved conditions to a great extent. "One of the procedures we have here in New York that I am particularly proud of is our method* of identification for race horses. Nighteyes Not Same on Horses "We found, after taking many photographs of the nighteyes or chestnuts of a horses legs, that it was apparently" impossible to find two that were exactly alike on the same leg of two different horses. And even if in the many thousands of nighteyes that we examined we found two that were somewhat similar, you could be absolutely positive that the nighteyes of the other three legs would be entirely dissimilar. So, therefore, we concentrated on using the nighteyes as the keystone of our identification system because it proved to be the closest to the fingerprint system used with human beings and followed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "In our study of the identification system employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, we ascertained that the basis of the system was the natural markings found on each individuals fingertips, namely, the minute ridges. These impressions are made universally under the fingerprint system by inking the fingertips rather than photographing them, inasmuch as printing is more practicable and economical. We further observed that the human identification system is fortified by a front and side view of the subject of the fingerprinting and, in addition thereto, re corded on each fingerprint card are the individuals date of birth, height, color of hair, scars and marks, etc. "In New York, following this well-established system as far as possible and adapting it to horse identification, we now make a separate .photograph of each nighteye and include the same at the bottom of a large composite picture of the front and side view of the horse being identified. On each front and side view of the horse photographed a name plate also appears. This plate is photographed simultaneously with the horse and permanently identifies the horses photograph. The plate "sets forth the name of the horse, the date on which the photograph was taken and the initials of the photographer and his assistant, thus -permanently identifying the photograph should any dispute arise in the future concerning its authenticity. . ! Take Separate Photo of Each | "As previously slated, a separate photograph is taken of each nighteye, that is, one each of the right and left forelegs and one each of the right and left hind legs. These constitute, under our system, the principal natural marks, in the same manner as do the ridge impressions on a humans fingertips in the fingerprint identification system. These nighteyes or chestnut photographs, together with the printed description on the back of the photograph, include such details as whirls of hair, cowlicks, gray hairs, permanent scars, dapples, general coloring and size of the animal and anything else that might appear under close scrutiny. Our system now includes on the reverse side of each photograph with other markings, the tattoo number of the horse, in the event the horse has been tattooed. "We have experimented with a picture taken of a horse in front of a graph background which would give the entire measurements, depth of chest, length of his barrel, height at his withers, height at the rump, stance, length of his head, the thickness of his neck and various other measurements that could be taken right from the picture itself. "Our identification system operates under a double check in that the photographers come from one organization and the horse identifiers from our veterinarian staff. Each works with the other. Before the horse photograph is accepted into the system the horse first has to be" checked in by the horse identifier. It goes without saying that a horses identity can only be convincingly established by natural markings. Blood Tests Made "A practice that we have which I think would be of value to the nation is that of screening by blood test and X-ray for syphilis and tuberculosis all persons who are required in their daily work to handle either food or clothing. All jockeys, as well as their valets, are put through this screening, after which they are given certificates stating that they either do not -have syphilis in a cummunicable- stage or that they do have it. "When a jockey comes here to ride, regardless of what part of the season it may be, he is asked for evidence that he has passed his blood test. If he does not have it, he is required immediately to have a physical examination and blood test made. "I think all states should require these tests or evidence that the tests have been made within the past three months. "At the TRA meeting last winter I explained our school for officials and I would like to repeat it for you now because the plan is even better now than then. "There is a need of good officials and few have the opportunity of developing properly for the positions. Therefore, we are trying to build up a supply of racing officials that may be available to any state in the union who may wish to borrow one of our officials for a meeting, or to have one assigned to them permanently. In our system here, we have, for the past 10 years tried to employ young men with the proper qualifications, education, appearance and attitude who would lend toward the development of officials of the highest calibre. We have drawn them from the ranks of retired jockeys, trainers, etc., and have put them in the horse identification department, as lead riders, patrol judges, in the track superintendents office, in The Jockey Club registration department, and various other places. They have been advanced as vacancies occurred and so far we have had wonderful success. In the past year we have assigned these men to positions as observers in the various other official duties, and we have rotated the officials in every department, first as observers, and then have assigned them to the duties in each department so that they could become completely familiar with them. After a year of such rotating I can report that we have definitely a very much better organization than we have ever had before. Although the same men are employed, they have not only acquired a Continued on Page Five MARSHALL CASSIDY— Explained the different procedures of The Jockey Club to the NARC assemblage. Cassidys Address at Convention Continued from Page Two knowledge of the other positions on the race track, but they have an idea of the relationship between these departments and the importance of teamwork, in producing the best results for racing. I think with the conclusion of another year, possibly in 1949, all of our officials will have gone through their period of training and each one will -qualify for any position he may be called upon to fulfill. Therefore, when any states outside of New York may wish the services of any particular class official, we could very easily loan them one of our men and take one of theirs to put through our school, thereby rendering a very definite service to racing in the United States. We are, as I have explained to the TRA, in a peculiar position of being able to do this because of the number of racing days in New York. We have practically 20.0 days of continuous racing at five different race tracks which gives us the opportunity of producing good experienced men. Opinion of Film Patrol "I would like to take this opportunity of expressing my opinion of the film patrol. As you know, that is the motion picture taken from vantage points during the running of a race, which is used by the stewards following a claim of foul. There has been much discussion as to the actual merit of this service, and because of its rather high expense it hasnt been used at a great number of tracks. I would like to give you the benefit of our experience with the film. We have found that it is of tremendous value in reviewing a claim of foul, and for that purpose alone it probably is well worth the cost of operation. However, it has a value that I think is even greater than that. We use the films here for educational purposes for the jockeys. We never punish a rider on the day a foul is committed but wait until the following day when he and the other boys involved in the race, plus any other riders who may wish to see. the film, are given the opportunity of reviewing it, and the boy who had been held to blame is given an opportunity to present his side of the case. We have found that this procedure has established among the jockeys confidence in the fairness of the officials. We have found that rough riding has decreased materially. The boys realize that their every move is photographed and a record made of it, and that they are not apt to get away with even a minor indiscretion. Review Films Next Day "The patrol judges are required to review the films of the entire eight races of the previous day in the morning at 10:30. They make notes of anything that happened during the running of the race whether it was in their territory or not. These comments are checked against the verbal reports that they make to a stenographer following the running of each race, and they are kept more alert because of the fact that this is a check of their ability. After they have reviewed the eight races in the morning they report their recommendations regarding the films to be reviewed to the stewards. The pictures are then reviewed by one or more of the stewards and the notations of the patrol judges taken into consideration. Following that, at 12:15, we have a showing of the films to the jockeys. At this time we only show the films of the races in which something happened. I cannot, I was going to, say, praise too highly the result of these films, but perhaps I should say I cannot accurately estimate their value. It certainly is one of the best things that has been introduced in racing in the last half century, and although I believe that perfection hasnt been reached yet, even the first service that we have had has brought marvelous results. "In my opinion, television will replace the motion picture cameras to a large extent although the motion picture camera will be used for a permanent file to retain and to use at a later date. I think the television cameras placed in the same positions as the motion picture cameras, can produce a picture right in the developing room, and in the stewards stand and in the presidents room, and wherever else it may be needed from which a motion picture can be taken and the film put into development as the race is being run and as the picture is taken. It can go from the motion picture camera right into the developer and can be available for the stewards to review immediately after a race -rather than waiting to have the film picked up by a truck from various towers where the motion* picture cameras are situated, brought to the developing room and then put in the developer. It also will eliminate a large number of motion picture operators because television cameras can be operated continuously and one operator can switch the picture from whatever television camera he likes on to the main screen to be reviewed or to be photographed. "SinceNpreparing my paper to read to you, I have been asked to add something about the disqualification rule we have in New York. In the April 30 issue of The Blood Horse, Joe Palmer has adequately and expertly presented the arguments in favor of our rule. I would like to take a few more moments to read it, if I may. Rocklye Disqualification "No sooner was Rocklye disqualified than argument arose about the New York racing rule which puts a disqualified horse last. He would certainly have been second if he had kept a straight course, and it was maintained that in justice to place and show bettors, he should have been put no farther back. " This department has alwayssupported the old rule, and it may be noted that the states which have had racing longest still hold to it while those who put it in for tax purposes are the ones which came up with the rule that, in case of foul, the horse which causes the interference should get no less than he was going to get on the level. tf When the leader fouls the runner-up in the stretch, with nothing else close, the new rule creates the illusion of making sense. But suppose he bats hell out of the logical contender at the half-mile pole and the victim finishes out of the -money. Where do you go now. I dont think it is wise to put a lesser penalty on a foul the whole grandstand can see. "And anyway, the idea behind a disqualification isnt merely to reconstruct the result, as it might have been without the foul; its to punish. It is argued that the public suffers. This is baloney. If a horse is put out of the money for fouling, that part of the public which had him place and show suffers, and that part of the public which had the third horse to place and the fourth horse to show has a lovely time. "If a horse breaks in the air, part of the public suffers. If one falls down the public suffers. As long as there are only three placed horses in a ten-horse race, a considerable part of the public is going to suffer. You cant give it to one part of the public without taking it from another. "The only comment I could add is that I think we have cleaner racing under our rule than could be possible otherwise."
