view raw text
♦ -• Here and There i on the Turf Bowie Scratch Rule. Changes Are Needed. Hardship on Owners. Registering of Foals. € There is one Bowie scratch regulation that work.-- a bit of hardship on horsemen and it has come in for considerable criticism. This rule reads: In overnight races, when there are more than eight entries, owners many declare out free of charge until only eight remain, when those who wish to declare out are sufficient in number to reduce the field to less than eight lots shall be drawn to decide who may withdraw. When there are only eight entries, or less, none may be withdrawn without the consent of the stewards, and then only upon payment of 5 per cent of first money. Declaration fees shall be divided: 60 per cent to second and 40 per cent to third horse. In case of sickness or accident, a horse may be excused by the stewards, but for no other reason. Thus the stewards are not permitted, should 1 they so desire, to excuse a starter except for these specific reasons and, even with the permission to scratch, the owner making the request, must pay 5 per cent of the first money. . That is where the rule works a hardship. . Frequently there may come other reasons than i sickness or accident that would warrant the ! excusing of a horse from starting, and there are worthy owners to whom the payment of t 5 per cent of the first money means much. It would seem a more just regulation if the stewards were empowered to determine whether * or not a horse should be excused without nailing them down to two specific reasons, and it I is certainly unfair to require a man to pay a i forfeit because through no fault of his own the horse is unfit to race. It is always commendable to have rules that t will discourage the riddling: of a racing program with scratches, and also commendable to see to it that excellent reasons are required j for the excusing of a horse carded to start, but it can readily be understood how the rule , could be manifestly unfair. Changed track . conditions should be a valid reason for the excusing of a promised starter. There are horses, and many of them, that are utterly unfit to race over a muddy course, just as there are horses that are benefited in the soft going. That was demonstrated with the sport of the opening day, when the overnight entries did not carry the name of Contemplate in the Inaugural Handicap. He had been named in the Promenade Purse, but when it was found that the footing was to his liking, he was sent after the richer prize by being added to the original list and withdrawn from the Promenade. And Contemplate was only nosed out by Aucilla for the ,000 stake. But what also happened Friday was that horses utterly unfit to race through the floppy going could not be excused by the stewards unless for reason of "sickness or accident." And at the same time those so excused had to pay 5 per cent of the first money. More than one horse, but one in particular, was started Friday, though his trainer knew he had no earthly chance in the going, just because he was not excused, though the request was made. That is where the rule works a hardship not only on the owner of the horse, but on the public. The fact that a horse is sent to the post, i 1 . . i ! t * I i t j , . to those who are not familiar with the vagaries * A of the animal, presupposes that he is ready to race and that he has some sort of a chancs of winning. Those who know the horse, and they may be few indeed, understand that he is utterly unable to show any form over that particular track, but he is virtually forced to go to the post. It has been suggested that, with the present rule in force, there should be an announce- . ment posted on the notice board giving the t name of the horses whose trainers had sought to have them excused. i That would not do at all for it would at once be an invitation for all sorts of fraud and , chicanery. The man who desired to belittle the chances of his horse could readily have his name so posted and reap a handsome re- i ward when the horse was winner. Punish- ments could be inflicted for those who made an , improper use of the system, but that would « not remove the temptation and it could never be a success. The fault seems to lie in the restriction that limits the stewards to reasons for the excusing of a horse and also in the fact that owners are required to pay for not running a horse that is utterly unfit by reason of the track or any other condition. By all means there must be rules to prevent the wholesale scratching of horses, but this rule is faulty for the reasons shown and it is small wonder that it has been so widely criticized. The sixty and forty per cent that is divided between first, second and third horses is of no moment to the horsemen compared with the hardship that can readily come with the change in track conditions from the time the entry was made and the running of the race. The importance of the Daily Racing Form Breeding Registration Bureau, for the enroll ment of thoroughbreds, was exemplified once more with the running of the first Bowie race. Birdwood, the son of Meridian and Mary Lydia, is registered with The Jockey Club as being bred by A. B. Hancock, when, as a matter of fact, he was bred by William Garth of Virginia for whom he raced. The way this came about was that Mr. Garth sold Birdwood as a suckling to Mr. Hancock and then bought him back at the Saratoga yearling sales, paying ,100 for him after having sold him the year before for ,500. Of course it was Mr. Hancock that sent the colt to the market and he was Mr. Hancocks colt when he was offered for sale, but William Garth remains his breeder no matter how many times he is sold. The breeder who sells a suckling may never go to the trouble or expense of making a registration of the animal, but the buyer of the suckling, or some one else, must make a registration at some time and it is easy to lose track of the actual breeder, while it might be possible for a shrewd buyer of a suckling to add greatly to his fame as a breeder by making the registrations. It is not intimated for a moment that a breeder of the integrity and importance of Mr. Hancock would build up a reputation by such a method, but it is easy of accomplishment by this method. Daily Racing Form, merely with a desire of keeping the records correct and at the same time exploiting the breeding industry, estab-i lished its Breeding Registration Bureau. All the breeder is required to do on the birth of a foal is to fill out a blank that is furnished, and mail it to any of the offices of the newspaper. Breeders generally have availed them-! selves of this service and it has already worked a good. Unfortunately on this first entry of Birdwood The Jockey Club registration was taken but, hereafter, as far as possible, The Jockey Club registration will be checked up with our own registration made at the time of birth.
