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BETWEEN RACES By Oscar Otis NEW YORK, N. Y., May 17.— The recent* strike of horsemen in Chicago is a clear indication that the various racing commis sions throughout the country must set up machinery to deal with disputes of this nature, with a view of solution, well in advance of race meetings. The publisher of this newspaper anticipated these problems many months ago when, in a speech before the National Association of State Racine Commission prs in Florida during January of 1951, he said: "The Horsemens Benevolent and Protective Association, now organized on a national basis, represents a majority of the owners in this country. This representation is healthy. It was made necessary because in many instances the horsemen did not receive a proper share of the revenue accruing to the race tracks. However, the very power of the HBPA makes it essential for the racing commissions to set up a mediation process such as that which exists between employers and labor unions. It is imperative that the commissions incorporate in their respective rules provisions for making it mandatory for the various interests in racing to mediate their differences. Cooling off periods frequently solve what appear at first to be insurmountable problems. It is important that justice, and. not power, be the determining factor in all disputes." AAA The advice of the publisher of this newspaper was not acted upon at the convention or later, but had it been, such a situation as prevailed in Chicago would not have occurred. It appears to everyone, including the states and theracing public as being directly concerned along with the racing associations and the horsemen, might do well to consider them now so that in the future no more Chicago incidents could arise. John Manfuso, of .the HBPA executive group, remarked to this writer that while he cannot speak for the HBPA, he personally believes that mediation, or at least an attempt at mediation, should be made before racing is called off. "The state racing commissions or the state legislatures should concern themselves with the matter," says Manfuso, "because cessa- *Need Mediation Machinery on Turf Publisher Makes Prophetic Remarks Many Horsemen Favor Arbitration Decry Chicago Tactics of Shehan tion of racing is detrimental to the sport. I personally would like to see a fact-finding economist from the outside make an impartial study of the entire economy of the turf industry, and perhaps his findings could be used to advantage in determining facts upon which an understanding could be reached in case of differences between management and the horsemen." We understand that many other leading horsemen feel that arbitration before a strike gets under way would be preferable to arbitration after a strike has begun, if only for the maintenance of public confidence. AAA There was one rather nauseating development in the Chicago incident which has left a lot of people in the industry wonder- j ing what goes on. We refer to the HBPA employing a former newspaperman and steward to turn his talents toward producing a steady stream of invective and abuse against ail hands other than the HBPA. Now, it has been our experience in the past that when the horsemen had a grievance with management, their leader or leaders presented their case to the public, through the press, and were so heard. They did not find it necessary to hire public relations men to think up new terms of personal attack, nor did they, in fact, resort much to personalities, but confined themselves to the principles involved in the issues. The Chicago campaign of abuse was led by Tom Shehan, editor of the Horsemens Journal. He obscured the issues and perhaps led at least a portion of the public to believe the track managements were a bunch of fat cats bent on starving the horsemen, many of whom were reduced to the ignomy of washing their own Cadillacs. But the attacks did not stop there; they were directed also at members of the racing commission. AAA Perhaps as good an example as any occurred on May 9, and I quote Shehan: "It was the opinion of most of the horsemen who sat in on the hearings that an examination of the transcript of the hearing will ►reveal the prejudicial attitude of the board. We also wondered why Mr. Peabody Stuy-vesant Peabody, chairman of the Illinois Racing Board went off to Houston on his own personal business when so much was at stake for everybody concerned." Peabody, like the other members of the Illinois board, serves as a public spirited citizen, without pay. Shehan criticizes Peabody for attending to his own business of making a living and in the same breath accuses the chairman of unfairness. He is treading, we believe, on dangerous ground here, and it is rabble-rousing by inference to take pot shots at the integrity of Illinois racing authorities of the highest repute. Of course, we dont think he meant it, but he said it for publication, and so employed a new tactic for the HBPA of fighting by smear. As we recall, the HBPA appealed to Governor Stevenson to arbitrate, but the Governor must have had confidence in his commission, for he did not act. AAA. So far as the best interests of the horsemen in relationship to racing as a whole are concerned, we dont believe the Illinois Racing Board, needs any apoligists for its conduct in this or any other matter which has come before it. No one can quarrel with the horsemen in getting a fair presentation before the public of their ideas regarding purses or any other matter, but the smearing of personalities is something else again. A lot of people are wondering how Shehan could be so unfair in this instance and whether his long tenure as a steward in New England was marked by absolute impartiality. If so, it seems to be one of those zoological cases where a leopard changes its spots. Or do leopards change their spots? . AAA I None of the foregoing is to be construed as an argument that horsemen are not entitled to a fair share of the purses, or that they should not bargain for same. This writer and this newspaper have always taken, the view that horsemen are entitled to a fair share of racing revenues. We do not mean to imply that the settlement in Chicago, eventually accomplished through negotiation, was not fair, but we do say that such negotiations should have been instituted at least one- month before the meeting opened. In summary, while the ends may have been desirable, some of the methods used to obtain them were open to criticism.
