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GOSSIP OF THE TDRF. Commenting on a certain feature of racing at San Francisco, the St. Louis Sporting News says: "A few years ago, when Barney Schreiber was best known as the lucky Dutchman, it looked as though, no matter how worthless a horse appeared to be, if Barney Schreibor bought it, a decided change for the better immediately developed. This was most notably the case with Pop Gray. He was about the best of the western two-year-olds of 1893. Otto Stifel, of this city, bought him and he immediately began to lose. After a dozen races which the youngster ran in the Stifel colors without once winning, Stifal sold him to Schreibsr and Pat Dunne for about one-third of his purchase price. Pop Gray immediately began to win again. Such was the case with almost every horse Schreiber bought. Now the reverse is the case. Schreiber has been soiling off nearly all his horses of three years old and upward out in San Francisco, and as soon as they race in new colors they begin to win. He sold Imperious to Pat Dunne, and the horse, within two weeks, won four straight purses, or about ,200. Schreiber got ,000 for him. Last week he sold Bacivan, a horse that could not win for him, and his new owner won him out on his first start, last Friday, when ha finished first at 50 and 60 to 1." To which it might be added that Bacivan yesterday showed his heels to such good ones as Ach and Jinks and may be a good racehorse himself. Unluckily for Barney, his trainer could not develope that fact for him, if fact it proves to be. The San Francisco Chronicle of Monday says : "The past week at Ingleside will long be remembered by the bookmaking fraternity. It was certainly a most disastrous week for the pencilers, and a conservative judge, who is in a position to know whereof he speaks, places their losses at 0,000 for the last three days of the present meeting. The number of well-backed horses that have won is simply phenomenal, and, even where some havo not figured, in some unaccountable way, the sharpshooters were down to a man. Any student of form knows that there have been soma very marked reversals of form, and it is these sudden changes that make a hole in the honest bookmakers exchequer. It is said that only one bookmaker is ahead of the present season in California." Fiddlesticks, by Lexington Filagree, by Stockwell, died at Mr. August Belmonts stud farm near Lexington, Ky., Wednesday night of old age. Fiddlesticks was a brown, foaled in 1873 and consequently twenty-six years old at the time of hu daath. He was a fair racehorse but not a topaotcher by any means. His career in the stud brought him no special distinction, though ho represented the extreme of high breeding. With his death the story of the sons of Lexington is told, he being the last survivor. The general impression prevails that no really first class youngster has yet been seen this season. There are a whole lot to be uncorked in the near future, however. The stake events will doubtless bring them all out. At the present time Ella Boland and Golden Bale have, perhaps, shown to the best advantage, but it will be found that neither is invincible befora the month is out. There is no Crescendo among the lot. San Franciso Chronicle.
