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GOSSIP OF THE TURF. While visitors to the Sheepshead Bay racecourse will see many improvements, especially in the substitution of an open iron fence for the i old wooden planking that shut off all view of : the handsome grounds from the road, the main . work of reconstruction will not be begun till . the summer, This, of course, means that the i i : . . i main improvements will not be in operation until next year. As a matter of fact, the complete plans are not yet agreed upon, though it is proposed, among other things, to have a bigger, more extended steeplechase, more like a "natural" country. The Coney Island Jockey Club already realizes, and other associations will have to do so in their turn, that if such important crosscountry events as the Grand National and the proposed event at Sheepshead Bay are to be given, the courses as at present constructed will be inadequate. This will especially be the case in regard to the first few jumps. Even as things have been so far, we have frequently seen fields that were too big, when it came to racing for the first fence for safety. The natural theory is of course that at this early point in a race each obstacle should be wide enough to permit the entire field of starters to go at it abreast, if necessary. Later in the race, when the field is inevitably weeded down and strung out, there is no necessity for this. It is very seldom indeed that you see as many as four horses coming at a jump together late in a steeplechase, but for some of these big events there are likely to be as many as fifteen starters, and it seems reasonably sure that the first running of the Grand National at Morris Park will not bring out less than ten runners. New York Journal. The United States soldiers, both regulars and volunteers, have a turf notion. Several of Daily Racing Foems publications go to the Cuban camps. Henry Wehmhoff, of Louisville, who until recently operated the Turf Exchange, recently received the following from a soldier in Manilla : "U. S. S. Buffalo, En Route to "Manila, January 17, 1899. "Tubf Exchange, Louisville, Ky. Gentlemen: Will you please place the enclosed on Manuel to win the Kentucky Derby? In the event of Manuel winning will you parlee the proceeds on tbe following: Schorr entry to win Clark Stakes at post odds; May Hempstead to win Oaks at post odds: Manuel to win Latnnia Derby, post odds; Jean Boraud to win Realization, post odds; Lieber Karl to win Suburban, post odds. Yours truly, William Thoenton." Mr. Wehmhoff wrote to the soldier plunger that no winter book on the Derby is being made, but that he would lay the money on Manuel and see that the other bets were made according to instructions. The stable of Bromley and Co. will be shipped east April 20. In this stable this season there are-twenty-six head. Thoy have been trained at Kenmore over a fifty-acre field, giving them a splendid advantage over horses which only had shed room or muddy lots in which to gallop, and every member of the stable is therefore in fairly good condition. They are in good health, just a trifle low in flesh, but rugged and strong. Previous and Heliobas have developed into splondid looking horses. Heliobas has recovered from his illness of last year and Provious is a grand looking horse. Mr. Bauer, trainer of the stable, thinks these horses ought to do well this season, especially since they are light weighted in all the handicaps. The stable will go to Morris Park. Louisville Courier- Journal. Last Fridays San Francisco Examiner says: "There was a lively discussion on the train en route to Ingleside yesterday relative to the horses entered in the third race. Peter Reilly thought Red Glenn a two-to-one proposition, Johu Coleman didnt agree with the little 1 bookmaker, and a wager of 52,000 to ,000 was I recorded Coleman taking tho short end. The i transaction attiacted the attention of Frank : Eckert, who never was known to miss an argu 1 I i : ment. ONeills partner had a poor opinion of Corrigans Sardonic, and ho offered to wager six against five that she would not finish first. Reilly proffered ,000 of his gold, which wa3 accepted by Eckert. As things resulted, Reilly won both bets, netting him ,200. At last accounts, he was looking for more horse arguments." A New York dispatch says Fred Taral has signed a contract to ride this year for Eastin and Larabie and adds : "Taral, who has been wintering at Mt. Yernon, now weighs nearly 140 pounds, but has begun his preliminary training to get down to riding weight so that he may ride Ben Holladay, the winter favorite for the Suburban. Fred does not pose so much as doos Tod Sloan, who has succeeded him as a public favorite among the jockeys, but he has probably a larger bank account. Taral is a thrifty young man and counts a hotel, a half dozen houses, a couple of farms, two Jersey milk routes, a j couple of grocery stores and two saloons among his possessions, besides several fast horses and some fine hunting dogs. As a crack shot, an expert boxer, a good pool and billiard player and a clever athlete, he manages to extract some amusement from life during the winter when he isnt starving to keep himself down to riding weight." Besides H. S. Tobacco, Katie Gibbons, Whirl-away, Farondale and Mad Anthony, Frank Leigh has seven two-year-olds in training at Little Rock, Ark. They are: Sir Fitzhugh, ch. c, by Deceiver Aimee. Special Notice, br. c, by St. Florian Ambulance. Morris Volmer, b, c, by Devotee Lackawanna. Dr. Tarr, ch. g. by Faustus Tinsel. Angie, ch. f, by Hanover Delphine. Cheesestraw, ch. f, by Cayuga Cheese Straw. Eva Jennings, b. f, by Leonatus Lady Elizabeth. The English people who know the handsome side of racing and its attendant speculation, as well as its shabbier side, aro not afraid to go to the courts with a racing case, because they too are broad and wise in deciding such matters. A dispatch from London Tuesday says: "The House of Lords today decided a long-debated question which is of intense interest to tho sporting world, namely, whether Tatter-sails inclosure at a race meeting was a place under the betting acts where bets could not be made. A friendly action was brought against the Kempton Park Race Company to contest the matter, and the case has been proceeding for years in various courts. The final decision, which has been delayed owing to the absence from England of the late Lord Herschell, has now been given in favor of the bettors, declaring that the inclosure3 are not places, " Messrs. Gideon and Daly aro mourning the loss of a suckling colt by His Highness Nellie Bly, which was foaled at the Holmdel farm, New Jersey, three weeks ago. Tho colt lived only eight days. During the night the mother rolled upon the youngster, and when the attondant went into the stall in the morning he found that the colt had been smothered todeath, Lew Elmore thinks well of two .maiden three-year-olds he has in training. Hollander is by Hanover Delphine. He is a big colt nearly 16.1. that was prevented from starting last year by an accident that led to his being thrown out of training. The other, Strathconan,,is by S trath-more Zuhlan. He is also a strapping, .big colt, with fine action and speed. : Clarence McDowell will be presiding judge and Mars Cassidy starter at the Washington, D. C.i spring meeting.
