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GOSSIP OF THE TURF. S. C. Hildreth is nndocided as to whether or not he secured a bargain when he purchased J. W. 8chorrs New Orleans stable for 2,000. "John Peters is worth all the rest of the string put together," said Mr. Hildreth Tuesday. "This son of Lord Esterling is a right shifty horse ; in fact, there is no telling how good he really is. Ha has accomplished everything asked of him at New Orltans. When a horse concedes weight to clever fields and beats them in the decisive manner that this one has been doing there is good reason for believing that he is a performer above the average. I dont know what to make of Commissionar Forstor. Some of his races have been creditable, but othors were away below the standard. Perhaps a change of trainers might benefit him. Sarner and Harry Wilson are useful selling platers, but neither of them is sound. Nicolette and Ravenspur are not worth feeding, and I will not keep this pair very long." , , E. J. Lucky Baldwin has at last sold part of his great Santa Anita ranch for 00,000 to a land syndicate. Baldwin, who lost heavily by the burning of the Baldwin Hotel in San .Francisco and who ultimately lost the valuablejlot on which the hotel stood, has declared many times that he would never sell an acre of his 70,000-acre ranch, but he is evidently pinched for money. Ho lost on his venture to Nome two years ago and he has put several large mortgages on the ranch iu the-Ust few years. During the great boom in Southern California in 1885 Baldwin could have sold most of his ranch for ,0CO an acre, but he would not part with it. His latest scheme is to establish a big theater in Los Angelos. M. N. Macfarlan, secretary of the New Memphis Jockey Club, will leave Memphis this week to mingle among horsomon in Kentucky, in the interest of the stakes which close January 3. Increased added money has been made in each prominent stake, except the Tennessee Derby, and this amount might have been increased, bat horsemen in recent years have been slow to make nominations to this race. It is said that W. C. Whitney has received a license to conduct a twenty days race meeting at Aiken, S. C, in the early spring. The meeting will not be run for the public, but merely for the amusement of the colony of cottagers at that place who are fond of the sport and are, in some cases, directly interested in the running of big stables on eastern tracks. Darnell and Herz made the wires hot between New Orleans and Lexington, Ky., Tuesday endeavoring to close a contract with jockey Lucien Lyne for the remainder of tha New Orleans meeting. They offered Ljne a monthly retainer of ,000 to go there at once and ride their horses. Lyno wants to spend Christmas with his parents. In order to enable him to jratify this desire Durnell and Herz offered to pay the expenses of Lynes folks to Now Orleans. This firm has been paying Buchanan a monthly retainer of 00. It was also betting from 00 to 00 on all the boys mounts for him. Sam Hildreth has a couple of two-year-olds at Memphis that have done little. Hildreth is going slow with them and evidently waiting for the coming of January before asking speed trials. He will add several youngsters to his collection and will start the next campaign with many two-year-olds. Last season Hildreth started off with none but three-year-olds or older and Boasted of not having a single youngster.
