The Fix

It was the last steeplechase race of the season at Pimlico. Six horses were entered--and the riders of all six had been fixed by a mysterious character identified only as "John." One jockey took a stranglehold on his mount at the start and didn't let go until far too late. One rider just eased his horse up at the 15th jump, another managed to fall off his. In writing the script the night before, the big problem was devising a not too apparent way to make the favorite, Gala Reigh, lose. Jockey Francis Passmore got orders to set a murderous early pace and then collapse in the stretch.

Gala Reigh neglected to cooperate. He got off to a 15-length lead, and showed no signs of tiring. Jockey Passmore, getting worried, began jerking on the reins, swung the horse to right & left. Said he later: "I think a blind man could have seen that I pulled the horse." Gradually Mamie's Lad, the horse on which all the "fix" money had been bet, crept up, won in the last few strides. Willie Owen, the nation's top steeplechase rider, up on Mamie's Lad, said proudly: "I had to do everything I could to win."

The six jockeys (and two confederates) had sold out for a paltry $4,660 between them. The long shot they had bet on at 10-to-1 had dropped to 8-5 by post time, largely as a result of their betting. Last week the Maryland Racing Commission, cracking down, ruled the eight off race tracks for life.

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