view raw text
GOSSIP OF THE TURF. B is A dispatch from New York says that "Tod Sloan will be in the saddle next season. It is q as fnrther stated that he willride in this country. According to the stories told Eloan has been as-Bured that the ban will be taken off him in England within a few weeks. It is known that this assurance has reached the Jockey Club in this g country, for Tod has been informed that the moment he is restored to good standing abroad he can have a license to ride here. Sloan has 2 no idea of returning to England. HehaBhad t enough of the English gsma. Unlike the ma- t jority of jockeys, be is not gaining in weight as t he grows older. It is understood that Sloan f will sign with the stable which seeks him, ac- i cepting a big sum for first call on his services, 1 As the stable is not a large one, he will be able c to take any number of outside mounts. It is S Baid that the stable to which he will attach 1 himself will race exclusively in the east, al- 1 though a horse may be sent to try for the Ameri- f can Derby. The influences which have brought about the prospect of his restoration to favor in England are unknown, but thoBe who have 1 followed the case closely, say that the return of his license will be made upon the express stipn- t laticn that he will not attempt to ride in Eng- i land next season. Tod eays that he will show the world tbat his period of idleness did not i take the edge off his skill as a rider." 1 Word comeB from San Francisco that with i the incoming of the new city administration on 1 January 1 the California Jockey Club will proceed with a strenuous attempt to get an ordinance authorizing the reopening of the Ingle-aide track. There probably is enough political power behind the club to get almost anything it goes after, especially as it will not encounter the Eame opposition frcm the church elements as marked Prince Poniatowskis effort to accomplish the same result last spring. The Board of Supervisors iB divided politically, the Democrats having nine members, the Republicans six and the labor party three. It is understood Mayor-elect Scbmitz is in f avor of racing at IngleBide. All cf the Democrats on the board, several of them holdover members who voted in favor of the former ordinance, will vote to paBS a new one. Col. Dan. Burns, I one of the largest stockholders in the trio of race tracks, will have no trouble in swinging tne Hepublicsn members into line behind his scheme, and all indications are favorable to its 1 success. The entire business and sporting elements of the community want the track to resume racing. Ingleside is one of the moBt magnificent racing properties in the world. It will be a great boom to the sport if it is gotten open again. Street cars pass the gate, and it has alwayB been the most popular of California race tracks. The San Francisco Examiner of December 23, has this to say about the respective merits of Old England andCruzados: "Since Old Englands decisive defeat of San Nicholas on Satur-daytand the eaey way in which Crnzados disposed of a good field in the stake, the chief discussion of horsemen is as to which would win if these youngsters were to meet. Each one has hietfriecds, and no better betting race could be arranged than a match between them, say at eix furlongs or perhaps seven. Of course there is no good basis for a comparison between them. Both have done everything they have been asked to do. Both have shown phenomenal speed, Old England has been carried at a mar-Telously fast pace and has survived, it easily. Crurados has won all Mb races In a gallop. What he would do if something stepped along with him a quarter in 25 wconds remains to be B is q as g 2 t t t f i 1 c S 1 1 f 1 t i i 1 i 1 I 1 Been. But then comes the query whether there anything of his age in training here that can outfoot him or come anywhere near it. So far looks go there iB little to choose betwoen the two-year-olds. Old England has the sturdier appearance and an absolutely perfect way of going. But no fault can be found with Cruza-dos conformation, and he has a long, easy stride that gets him over the ground very fast." Judge Burke, in Daily America of December 25, has this to say about no dates being assigned to tho Metropolitan Jockey Club : "Let ub hope that the little cloud on the racing horizon will blow over, and that the talk engendered by the fact that no dates were assigned to the Metropolitan Jockey Club will come to nothing. What are the facts? A race course is in course of construction at Jamaica. It is to cost about 50,000. The names of Senator Sullivan, George F. Dobson, Adrian H. Jackson, Nicholas D. Hussey and J. P. Muir were published recently as incorporators. It was announced in several papers that the new club aspired to race in the spring and fall, and that Aqueduct and other tracks would lose some dates to let in the new people. Meantime- the time for arranging the schedule of dates came on, and there was no formal application from the Metropolitan Jockey Club, although one of the incorporators Baid yesterday that he had had an informal talk with the chairman of the Jockey Club. With a course far from being ready, no place to transact business, and no officers with whom to do that business, as far as known, the stewards of the Jockey Club went ahead and awarded dates nearly in accordance with last years Bchedule. The implication Beams to be tbat if the track were actually ready and the club in a position to go right ahead with a stake or even a purse program, there would have been no difficulty whatever about the dates." The Metropolitan Turf Association has just completed a new clubhouse for its members at 22 West Twenty-Bixth street, New York City. It is the first time the club has had a home of its own since it organized, some five years ago The building costs 5,000. There are 200 members in the club, who have paid all the way from 00 to ,000 for the privileges. The object of the club is to foBter sociability and bring the members closer together; also, to assist each other as much as possible in their particular line of work. To do this, it will be proposed to follow the example of Tattersalls, of London, in one respect, which will be to have the regulation "blackboard" on whichto post the names of all race track delinquents, whether they be members of the organization or outsiders.
