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was was last last seen seen in in tl On the Trot I By MORRIS KURLANSKY 1 Outsider Starts Eventful Night Mondays Accident Rarely Happens Many Fans Misunderstood Ruling MAYWOOD PARK, Maywood, 111., May 20. — Harness racing enthusiasts who witnessed Monday nights ;hts program program at at May- nights ;hts program program at at May- May-wood Park were in for a hectic night. Things started rolling in the second race. A 110 to 1 outsider came from behind to beat more highly regarded opponents in a driving finish for a mutuel payoff of 23.60 and a Daily Double worth 42.40, the biggest of the season. The winner, Clara Tass, who the le victors victors enclosure enclosure at at was was last last seen seen in in tl the le victors victors enclosure enclosure at at Hollywood Park on November 8, 1951, profited from the murderous pace set by Honors Lady, which went the first quarter in :30% seconds and the half in 1:04%. With the last quarter timed in :33%, Clara Tass, with owner-trainer Ellsworth Abare of Del Mar, Calif., in the sulky, had little difficulty in running over dog-tired horses. The result of this race, as weU as several other ones in the last few days, is the consequence of a new tactic used lately at Maywood Park. Following the rush for positions in the first quarter, most drivers were inclined to give their horses some sort of a breather before the first lap was concluded, which resulted in a much slower time for the second quarter. Since "loafing" is frowned upon by the stewards and subject to penalties, drivers have to Mgo" aU the way, and skillful rating of a horse becomes more important than it was before, while, at the same time, "action" is assured for the whole mile. An example of this new strategy was given also in the fourth race by Everett Osborn with the four-year-old colt, Bill Bloss. The Scotland son, starting from an outside post position, was kept in the rear for more than half of the way, brought into a contending position rounding the last turn and won by a neck after a long stretch battle. The quarters in this race were timed in :31%, :31%, :33% and :3iy5 for 2:07%, fastest trip of the night. Bill Bloss, by the way, is a full brother to the good trotter, Jesse Chisholm, who piled up an impressive winning streak at Santa Anita last year. Jesse Chisholm is remembered in the Chicago area for his victory in the Great Midwest Trot in 1950 annual stakes event for three-year-olds promoted by Aurora Downs. Jesse Chisholm and Bill Bloss are owned by E. C. Moriarty of Wichita, Kan., who is also the breeder of these two horses. Bill Bloss last year was tried out on the trot, but likes pacing better and should be at his best over a mile track. An accident occured in Mondays sixth race, which, though ending on a rather fortunate note, nevertheless caused a lot of arguments about something that is really the crux of harness racing. As it was, Bob Counsel, with Tom Mills in the sulky, neared the wire with a clear advantage over his nearest adversary, Stop Watch, when he made a break a few feet from the wire. Before anyone was aware what was going on, Bob Counsel went down on his knees and slid head-on over the finish line to pUe up horse, sulky and driver, a yard or two behind the wire. While Stop Watch and the next finishers could pass by the wreck, Sunny Napoleon, coming on, hit Tom Mills, also broke stride and threw his driver out of the seat, dragging him along for some 30 feet. Falstaff, finishing on the rail, then clipped Mills with the right wheel. Mills, who, incidentally, substituted in the sulky behind Bob Counsel for the ailing Joe Clark, was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he was released the next morning with minor injuries. In the meantime, the judges had posted the inquiry sign and, after consulting the photo-finish picture, gave the race to Stop Watch and put Bob Counsel in second place. This immediately provoked a prolonged booing and hissing from some of tiie public, which had made Bob Counsel the post favorite. There might also have been some sentimentalism expressed in the disapproval of the judges decision, people being inclined to give the hurt driver some sort of consolation for his misfortune. The verdict of the judges, however, cannot, in the least, be doubted. The picture clearly proved the fact that Bob Counsel made a break before reaching the wire. Stop Watch was right alongside him at that moment. The official rules state that a horse will be set back when a contending horse on his proper gait is lapped on the breaking horse at the finish. There were several possibilities. Had Bob Counsel broken stride a fraction of a second • later, he would have crossed the wire ; as the legitimate winner. Had he fallen i • ; i before the wire, he would have been declared a "non-finisher." Also, if another horse besides Stop Watch had been lapped on him, he would have been set back another place. It appears that many of the booers did not understand the meaning of the word "lapped," as used in horse racing. Websters Dictionary explains "lap" as follows: "Partly lying over something." In horse racing, it means a horse is lapped on another one when any part of it covers any part of the other horse. Breaking is something that nobody likes in harness racing, but something that probably can never be exclnded totally. A horse may break stride, often at the start, because it is not secure in its gait. This happens mostly with young and unexperienced horses, and a good trainer will, sooner or later, succeed in teaching a horse to leave on the proper gait. On the other hand, a horse may break stride because of exhaustion or just to get a "breather" from great exertion. In that case, a horse is usually back on its proper gait in a very few strides, but it is rather unfortunate when it happens right in front of the wire. With Bob Counsel, it was different altogether. According to Mills, Bob Counsel broke stride when he crossed the beam of the floodlights at the finish line. Some-» how, Bob Counsel got entangled with his hopples, which caused his fall. This was a finish that happens, perhaps, once in every 10,000 races.
