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Show CRY OF TURFMEH 13 FOR BEAL JOCKEYS 1 j Riders of Today Do Not Begin to Compare With j Those of Old NEW TOBK Dec 12 That thiB ' country is sadly in need of good jock eys is made apparent by a glance over tho records for the yeai up to and including October 22 Daring that time 301 jockeys had ridden at least one winner which included mounts in Canada and Mexico Out of this ntim ber there are only four or five who come nnder the bead of even good riders From a percentage standpoint Borel beads the 1 st by a good margin, hav iug ridden twenty two winners out of fifty five mounts This gives bim a percentage of 40 His nearest opponent oppo-nent i Notter with a percentage ot 27 He rode fifteen winners out of fifty five attempts. These two ar followed by Butwell O Bnen and llo-Taggart llo-Taggart Butwell has been prominent in. the saddle for the last en years, yet hi record is anything but wonderful com pared with riders of the old school. Uis percentage out of 488 mounts is exactly 5 or only one-fourth of hia poss bilities hezt to Butwell comes 3 O'Brien, who has a percentage of 22 out of a possible Ho mounts while John JIo-Xaggart JIo-Xaggart runs close up with an average of 21 out of 69' mounts Following MeTaggart is Kederis who has had 421 mounts and he concludes with a percentage of 19 The surprise of the list is Joe McCahey who has not met with extraordinary suceess considering tho number of monntB he has accept ed McCahey s figures show him to hold a percentage of 18 out of a pos s ble 420 chances Few Capable Riders It is strange how jockey material in, this country has deteriorated in late years One is at a loss to account for it unless the old school of teachers has become extinct as a very small percentage of the rising jockeys ahow signs of illuminating the ranks While W C Daly could never be accounted one of the highest types of horsemen there is one feature of the sport that he aided in materially and that was educating riders He has introduced more good nders than he has horses in fact some of the very best riders m the world have gradu ated from the Daly stable including sueh reputable horsemen as McLaugh lin Maher Garrison O Connor Palm er Moran and a dozen others of more or less note In late years however, the old horseman has not paid tne at tention to raising nders, possible due to the fact that he has had few horses in the last ten years consequently less work for youngsters around the barns. Daly had the nerve to ride his boys m races for educational purposes and many a race he has had tossed off by the method employed but eventually, he made nders and sold them or prae i tically speaking sold their contracts to good advantage In these days the large stables nave little or no use for the rising generation of nders They want experienced boys to nde races Consequently it is rare that an apprentice of note looms into prom inence for very few haTe a chance to forge to the front owing to lack of opportunity Iseeds Attention The jockey question is one that should receive the attention of owners and trainers and also rac ng associa t ons Iew jockey mater al is badly needed and a good apprentice is fre quently worth cons deraDly more that a good race horse Stables of any mag nittde should hae at the least two oi three apprentices to educate as wel as a fin shed horseman to nde in Etak races It is true that hardly 1 per cen of those who take up the calling mak first da s jockeys but there are a num ber who would pass muster if givei a fair chance and not discarded ll the r early days as many have been Pnnce Poniatowski who pres de over the Tanforan track in California had the right idea when he organize a school for jockeys At lea t he ha the foundation laid for a school whel the track was sold over his head H not only proposed educating them t r de ra es but organized a school o learn ng inside the Tanforan ground to give me btaoiu uujo ou uunuiui, to become usetul in other walks of lifi This was a step in the right d rec tion and had he continued as a man agar of racing plants there is 1 ttl question he would have done much fo the elevation of the sport But it wa not to be and todav there is a deart of 00d r ders when good nders ar sadly wanted Experience Necessary Tho winter tracks could well affor to help o t in th s direction by g vin two or thioe races each week fo young jockeys and later on for thes who have won. but one or two race. By this means apprent ces would hav an opportunity lo nde fa rly goo horses and good horses make goo I ders It is almost safe to say that b next spring there would be a ne-school ne-school of riding material some of whic miaht turn out more than useful The late Mr Crickmore tned to in prove the jockey quest on by thei methods but h s ideas were not fo lowed pers stently by other secretane consequently little headway was mad though several first class jockeys spran from the ranks through the medium ( races confined to young jockeys Ir provement in the breed of horses h been the slogan of those interested i t rf affairs Success has followed tl efforts of breeders and the Amencs thoroughbred is in the foremost rani of the thoroughbred world. How abo improving the breed of jockeys inte lectually physically and efficiently? |