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. Weighing In I « By EVAN SHIPMAN AQUEDUCT, L. I., N. Y June 26.— Modern conditions compelled a change in the standards governing the operation of thoroughbred thoroughbred racing. racing. . thoroughbred thoroughbred racing. racing. Beginning even before the active participation of the state, a general tidying-up, house-cleaning, if you like, raised the dust and swept the corners clean in just about every room, but the most noticeable, the most remarkable improvement, per haps, has been in in our our race race riding. riding. In In in in our our race race riding. riding. In In the course of remarks yesterday, inspired by Eddie Arcaro s extraordinary career in the saddle, we said that he had "matured," but it occurs to us as an important afterthought that all his successful contemporaries acquired a new sense of responsibility at about the same time. Not so long ago, a spirit of anarchism, or at least "laissez-faire," was taken for granted at our tracks. All the prominent riders were "rugged individualists," winning little but praise for what they could get away with. Those days are over, gone and nearly forgotten. Most of the good jockeys, and, Arcaro is an example, have quickly adapted themselves to the new spirit. Rough riding is pretty much a thing of the past, and we believe that both the officials who initiated and insisted on this renovation, and the boys who reformed, deserve congratulations. No influence, as we see it, has been more beneficial in the real improvement in American race riding than that of Marshall Cassidy, steward representing The Jockey Club at New York tracks. He is only one of a number of energetic officials who have carried on the good work, but Cassidys methods were original, effective and have been widely copied. We have observed the personal relationship that he maintains with the riders. We have never failed to be impressed by the respect that he commands, together with his broad understanding of the problems inherent in the jockeys job. When they tell their story to Cassidy, they are well aware that here is a stern, but just, judge; that he will examine any race on his merits, and that his ultimate decision will be that of a true horseman, a position they can always understand, even if the particular ruling may appear severe. Throughout the years that he has officiated on the Metropolitan circuit, Cassidy has insisted on decorum. It may be that that word, "decorum," given a broad application, best describes the reform for which we hold him, in great measure, responsible. The politeness that has become second nature under the cool, commanding eye of Cassidy is only the "outward and visible sign" of an intention to perform cleanly, and in accordance with the strict rules of racing, out there on the track. Prejudiced as we are against a trend that might be labelled the "mechanization of racing," we must admit that many of the inventions, either initiated or recommended by Cassidy, have aided modern racing. We have our reasons for not caring particularly for the starting gate, but we are quick to admit that these gates are almost a necessity at a modern, pari-mutuel course. Cassidy, naturally, knows all the reasons, pro and con, when the adoption of some new invention is discussed. He pays more than lip service to the traditions of the sport, but he realizes that we must change with the times, that a new era demands a new method. So with the now widely used film patrol. A moving picture of a race, we once feared, would replace the authority of individual interpretation, an authority that we saw as necessary to maintain discipline. We were wrong, and Cassidy, who saw the film patrol as an adjunct to, rather than a substitute for, wise work in the stand, was completely right. The "gadgets" that now cluster our tracks, and many for which Cassidy is directly responsible, are like the complicated dashboard in front of an aviator. They do not make his task easier, but they are all necessary in the operation of a complicated machine, and it requires a high degree of skill to read them accurately. Absentees from the Tremont field did not help yesterdays feature at Aqueduct, but the clever winner, the Wheatley Stables home-bred Hilarious, is certainly one of the best juveniles to put in an appearance this season, and is sure to be heard from again in later stakes. The Bimelech colt out of a Johnstown dam did not have to break any track record, and he ran the five and a half furlongs distance faster in a previous outing. He looked yesterday as if he might have endangered Apaches 1:0445 had Eric Guerin called on him in the stretch, and he looked, too, as if the longer distances will not trouble him. He is a stouter individual than his sire, who was the champion juvenile of his year for the late Col. E. R. Bradley. Some time ago, John Fitzsimmons hinted that Game Chance Continued on Page Forty -Five I WEIGHING IN By EVAN SHIPMAN Continued from Page Four might be the best of the large number of two-year-olds in his fathers barn. We believed he has revised bis estimate. An inadvertant slip, that did not go unnoticed by our readers, caused us to assign County Delight to Mrs. E. duPont Weir rather than this fine handicap horsess true owner, Paul Mellon. County Delight has always raced in the Mellon colors, and the only excuse for the mistake was that his trainer, Jim Ryan, also has Mrs. duPont Weirs large stable in his charge. While County Delight has shown us nothing comparable to the class of a Spartan Valor or an Intent, this is a really useful horse, rating near the top of his division. On the sidelines for much of the time as a two-and three-year-old, Mellons campaigner "found himself" in Florida a year ago last winter, and from then on he has proved redoubtable in the best company. Count Delights next big objective is probably the Brooklyn Handicap, and John B. Campbell will not -have to err on the side of generosity to give this son of Count Fleet a fine chance for the famous old Long Island feature.
