AMERICAN STARTERS.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XV, Issue 2394, 28 February 1889, Page 1

AMERICAN STARTERS.

We wonder how the 'treatment, described in the following paragraph would suit in the colonies ;<**■■■ - American officials seem to have a way of their own for affairs, and starters on this side might take a ipaf out of the books of their Yankee confreres, if we may believe the Sport' ing World, which gives us an insight into the manner in which certain details" of racing are managed in New York. Many of the jockeys are wellbehaved lads, who do what they are told, and attempt to: take no adyantago. Others are little rascals of the worst sort. ; Setting them down is apparently' of |ip us|j Jl'mdf h&ye no terrors, and* tHo question is what can be dope ? I was talking to a man recently, who has had quite' Bo^e exjperience as a starter, and when I asfied hhn for a solution of the starting difficulty, he replied that a man must -be jpi^pfered to begin with tho use 61 "Early English;" and going on to the extent of whipping the most refractory boys into shape. He tiarrated the experience of ono man who made a fair success at the mitor tracks last winter, JVhen he first started he thought that a good,, nice quiet/talk to the boys would have the desired effect. He failed. Then 'he tried su^pensiohs. This j)Un failed, because good light-weight jockeys ar% in such demand that it was almost imio^ei&j^si^ei^ions in/^rce without seriously affecting racing. Finks* were paid- without a murmur, and the same offences wore repeated. Finally, in his despair, one day the starter got off b|s bo^, and going #p tb"oueof the mjPißtj^£raetQry lacir^e gave him a resounding box on the ear, which made his heaof swim* -and ia another race he gave another lad a dose of the ' *sam<^i medicine, and threatened to punish, him within aa ounce of his lifef Aflfei* that he did not have much trouble.