RACING "REDS."

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 249, 20 October 1928, Page 10 (Supplement)

RACING "REDS."

THE SPORT OF KINGS.

IN PROLETARIAN "PARADISE."

OUT FOR A GAMBLE.

(By DR. EDOUARD LUBOFF, the leading authority on Soviet Russia.)

Racing and Bolshevism! The sport of kings in the Communist Paradise! It is an amusing anachronism but not surprising or impossible in that country of ruthless experiment and crude opportunism. And so the Reds do go racing! After all, the people of Russia, with very few exceptions, have always been lovers of horses and keen judges of riding. And even Lenin's rule of blood could not eradicate this natural trait in a country peopled by Slavs and Asiatics.

But as long as Lenin was alive, even the boldest of his lieutenants did not dare to suggest that such a "bourgeois" institution as racing could be permitted to the "toiling masses." And I doubt whether any of them, even Trotsky, who was in command of the Red Army, ever thought,of racing as a national necessity.

Soviet racing began immediately after the death of Lenin, but its revival was the work of months and was due entirely to the energy and enthusiasm of Budeny, the dashing cavalry leader, who is to-day the chief stewards of Soviet racecourses.

His task was not an easy one, and only experts can appreciate the efforts' that were necessary to start studs with such meagre material. To this we must add the difficulties put in the way of restoration by the "true followers of Lenin,"' to whom racing meant "the defeat of the Revolution."

So strong was their opposition that the enthusiastic advocates of racing were driven to defend themselves with the most naive and transparent arguments.

"The revival," they said, "cannot gladden the hearts of the capitalists, for the sporting nature of racing has been entirely abolished. The whole proceedings are now based on the fact that the horse is vital to our economy, and racing only encourages the breeding of good farm and army horses." Races Without Prizes. It is impossible to say whether these explanations were accepted in good faith, but it is quite evident that for several years the wishes of the Leninites had to be respected. Thus we find, for instance, that the first races were run without prizes and without any form of betting. As a result there were very few entries and nobody took the trouble to attend the meetings.

In fact, the first races were in the nature of trial runs attended by officials only, and the horses came from stables that were "owned and controlled" by the Government —a committee of officials from the Commissariat of Agriculture and the Commissariat of War. Naturally such tests gave very little encouragement to the staff, already deprived of all individual initiative by State control, and the results were extremely disappointing.

At last Budeny came to the rescue by offering "diplom&s" to the winning horses, arguing that the Leninites could not object to diplomas since in other fields of endeavour they themselves bestowed diplomas and certificates. For a time again the Government stables showed some liveliness in their efforts to compete for these honours, but their interest soon evaporated and disappeared entirely after the first three meetings.

As for the pesantry who were encouraged to enter their horses for special races, they openly informed the organisers that horses could not be bred, brought to the course, and run on "diplomas" alone. Something much more substantial was needed if they were to carry on. The argument was forcible and the opposition was silenced. Monetary prizes were introduced and racing proper came into its own again. The summer of 1924 was therefore the first season in which racing was described by the Soviet critics as an "amusement" and as an excuse for gambling. For by that time betting was winked at and the crowds that had begun to attend were catered for on a generous scale. A line racecourse, known as the Hippodrome, was opened in Mpscow and a succession of small meetings were held there between May and September. In addition to this, several special "Derbys" (note the flattery!) were introduced as attractions. Little by little all the Communist "ideals" were thrown overboard.

To-day racing in Red Russia is in full swing on orthodox lines; the only change that can be noticed —and it is the same with everything else in Russia —is the change 111 the personality of the habitues; the old race-goer is to be seen very rarely. Proletariat "Ring." The grandstands are filled with the better-paid -artisans and officials, and special enclosures are reserved for the Commissars and their friends. Certain places along the course are roped off for the "proletariat." Glancing at the crowd casually, however, it is difficult to see any great difference between this year's races and those of 1913. The uniforms may not be so brilliant as they were then, but they are even more numerous and varied. As for the women, it is true that the fashions have changed, but the Soviet woman is every whit as well turned out for the races as her capitalist prototype,' and judging by her animation she enjoys it just as much, in spite of her "proletarian" sympathies. The only thing one misses is the black and grey "topper" of the English sportsman, whom one met so often 011 the Moscow racecourse. There is also a change in the type of bookies; before the war they aped the British and French styles; to-day they appear on the course in the guise of peasants. •Wise '"people, bookies! Out For a Gamble. And it is interesting to note that the names of the horses are new and. significant: "Revolution," "Proletarian," i"Agitatpr," "liberty," and "The Third International," are popular. To come to the crowd. Soviet observers divide it into two categories. The minority are said to be connoisseurs, chiefly cavalry officers, to whom "racing is an art and the racecourse a spectacle; for them the Great Derby held in August is a holiday." The majority, however,

are "an unhealthy crew for whom the

race is a gamble." The connoisseurs value the horses as horses, but the "rowd "praise only those horses that vdrry money."

This criticism may be true but it does not appear to hinder the real business of the meeting. Officials back their fancy even if the money, as is often the case, has been embezzled from the State, and their women folk are very keen to follow the advice of those "in the know."

The artisan class 3s not immune from the gambling spirit, and we learn of tlieir failure to "spot the winner" by the complaints made by their wives in the matrimonial courts on days following important races.

As for the lower-grade workers whose poor wages do not run to "a rouble each way" on the favourite, they have evolved a new form of sweepstake. Every worker in a given factory contributes from one to five copecks (a farthing to a penny) and this money is then entrusted to a "delegate" and to his discretion. The delegate goes racing on behalf of his comrades. And so the Soviet Press is in a position to boast that "delegates from many factories were present on the course to watch Soviet progress in horse training." Dishonest Delegates. It is seldom, however, that the delegate brings back any winnings, and many of them have been accused of foul play and dishonest practice. Some delegates have deliberately absconded with the few roubles entrusted to them and have returned only when all the money has been spent. In consequence, the factory "correctional courts" are snowed under with racing business during the summer months. Real open gambling can be seen at its best on "Peasant Derby" day, when each peasant owner is accompanied to Moscow by almost the entire population of his village. These supporters consider themselves in honour bound to back their horse against all comers, and their betting operations, while crude, are very picturesque.

The spokesman of one set 6f supporters will challenge the others in vivid language and the stakes are the communal property of each group: they take the form of money, grain, dogs, guns, watches, and even boots. Hence the peasant saying, "He lost his boots on a horse," equivalent to the Englisn, "lie put his shirt on* a horse."

The owner's challenge i 3 also picturesque. Holding his horse by the bridle the peasant, declaring his faith in his own stock, shouts: "1 bet that my horse wins," and names the amount which he is prepared to pay should he lose. These amourits fluctuate between ten shillings and ten pounds in English equivalents.

Frequently the horso itself is the stake. "If my horse does not beat yours, you can take him," is the formula of the challenge, and the reply is, "Done, the same here." The rivals thereupon shake hands, their witnesses do the same, and the deal is concluded.

The "mixed" Derbies, when peasant horses compete against Soviet stables, are not such exciting events, since the official trainers are not allowed to accept challengas. The races are run for the ofticiai: prizes only, though the peasant supporters do their best to enliven the proceedings by betting among themselves.

To-day among the converts to the necessity and advantages of racing we find the majority of the Chief Commis-1 sars, with the exception of Lunacharsky, I who is too intellectual to be interested in horses; Tchicherin, who is both too ill and too absorbed in foreign affairs to enjoy the lighter side of life; and Litvinoff, who knows very little about sport. Of the other opponents, Trotsky is in exile, and Zinovieff and Kameneff are too busy worming themselves back into Soviet grace. Stalin is a frequent visitor to the Hippodrome and an enthusiast of racing; he undoubtedly remembers his own bandit days when 6peed meant liberty. Rykoff (the Soviet Prime Minister), Kalinin (the President of the Russian Republic), and Voroshiloff (the Commissar for War) are always present on Derby days—that is, twice a year—when the Soviet and Peasant Derbies are held. Bukliarin and Karakhan, the two chief plotters of world revolution, appear both to enjoy and to encourage the sport. Parades on Course. Perhaps the most astounding thing about the Moscow races is the eagerness with which the crowd accepts any form of entertainment. Thus they appear to be amused by endless processions of Communists all kinds of placards with violent and abusive slogans. The latest parades on the course always include grotesque masks of Sir Austen Chamberlain, an Orthodox Priest, and a General of the White Army; the trio being represented as the "enemies" of Red Russia. But while Britain is thus depicted as the enemy, the racing terminology in Moscow is predominantly English. We find in Russian spelling such words as '"start," "finish," "run," "game," and even "racer" has been Russianised to "Ryssak."

Propaganda and peasant punters! A rouble 011 the winner and a hearty laugh at Britain! Racing and Revolution! That's the spirit of the Red Derbies.