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HANDICAPPING FOOT RACES.
TO THE EDITOR.
Sir—I notice in your edition of the 20th
instant a letter on above subject signed " Ex-
Champion," who wants to know on what
system gentlemen who undertake the duties
of handicapping foot races go when trying to
put the competitors on equal terms. 1 think
" Ex-Champion" ought to know by this time
that every competitor has to send in past
performances for last two years, and these are
carefully studied, and handicapped accordingly.
His principal grievance seems to be
Keen getting 13 yards in the last Sheffield
Handicap, and running the remaining 117
yards in 12 sec., or the full distance in l£j sec.
This must surely be a mistake, as I doubt
whether there is a man in South Australia
who can break 13 sec. in 130 yards. Keen's
time by my stopwatch (taked by a friend of
mine) was a fraction over 13 sec. for the 117
yards, and I firmly believe that was the
correct time.
Referring to Mr. Keen's performances, I
still think, and will prove that he had a right
to the 13 yards start. " Ex Champion" in his
letter Bays—" Keen, who is well known
as a fast sprinter, and ba3 good
performances gets 13 yards, and consequently
bis name ' sticks out a foot' as the winner,"
Now, Sir, with your permission, we'll see
whether he was entitled to 13 yards, and
whether he is such a well known sprinter.
His nomination-paper gave his only performance
(bar two Sunday school carnival*)
as Simpson's Sheffield, run on December 11
and 18 at Maid and Magpie. He received
If) yards, acd ran third in the seventh heat,
Coonan being first, with 18 yards ; time, 13
sec. Davison, with 4J yards (he received 4
yards in this last Sheffield), ran second in
the fourth heat, Mark the time—12?, sec.
I might state for " Ex-Champion's" information
that, although I am a novice, I have
every handicap that has been run in Adelaide
for the last two years recorded in my
scrapbook ; also most of tbe country sports,
and I know exactly how to handicap him,
and I sincerely think the sooner " Ex-
Champion'' retires from the field the better
it will be for athletic sports in general.
I maintain that such an exhibition
of running as he gave the public
last Saturday is a disgrace, and will
tend to do more harm in the future than all
tbe good he has done in the past. "Ex-
Champion" is anything but a good actor.
He made a splendid display at the startingpost,
breaking away some five or six times,
and when finally getting off (with a good
start) he ran some 50 yards in his very best
style, and was rapidly overhauling his opponents,
when to the disgust of the onlookers
he slackened speed and began talking to the
competitor running on his right. The public
saw at once that he was again running
"stiff," and started hooting him, which
he richly deserved. It was the general
opinion that if he had gone for the
race he could have won. AB it was, Correll
and Keen ran a dead heat for first place, and
it is very satisfactory to a handicapper to see
honours divided, and shows that two men
at leatt in the race are put on an equal footing.
1 am, Sir, &c.,
HANDICAPPER.
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