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r t v j 1 f j i 1 1 i I i i i 1 , : E s , I t i s 3 r t 1 - VARIATIONS OF THE SUBURBAN. L History of the Big Race in Respect to its C Changes in Value. The commendable liberality and enterprise of the Coney Island Jockey Club in increasing the w value of the Suburban to 5,000, draws attention I! to the variations in value that have marked the 1! history of the big race1 since it was first run in S 1SS4. That year it had ,500 added, and no better s field has ever contested it, twenty of the best horses b in America starting, yet the net value to the i; is winner was only ,015 The endowment of the I. Suburban remained at ,500 added until 1SSS, in 1; which year it was increased to ,C00 .idled. That was the year that Elk wood won from the western u crack, Terra Cotta, by a short neck. In 1SS! it s was changed to a . guaranteed value stake of 0,- i; O0O. That was Itacelands year, and the stake a a was run under the same conditions in 1S00, when v Salvatpr won, the winner In each year netting i ,!00. In 1S01 the value was further increased i; to 5,000, and the winners portion was ,900. o Then followed a few years of financial high-water j mark for the Suburban. In 1S92 it was made a race i of the guaranteed value of 5,000. so that in its i recent action the Coney Island Jockey Club is i simply restoring its chief handicap to a value it !: lias held before. It fell to Montana that year, and was of the same value in 1S93, when Lowlander won. For some reason the snm guaranteed did not prove satisfactory, and in 1S94 the Suburban was , changed back to the added money system, with the odd sum of 4,000 as its endowment. The result was 2,070 to the winner that year, whereas in , each of the two preceding years it had been , 7,750. Then came a sudden and radical change. , Through poolroom wars, with Peter De Lacy heading , the attack, racing was brought into serious danger , of destruction, and the alarmed otlicials of the j eastern tracks cut down values to such a great j extent that when Lazzaroue won the Suburban of 1S95, it was a stake of the comparatively in- significant value of ,000 added, and, having but twenty-three nominations, brought the winner the net sum of only ,730. The scanty entry list shows emphatically with what alarm the eastern racing situation was then viewed by owners generally, a situation that was finally relieved by the enactment of the Percy-Gray law and decisions rendered by the New York courts subsequently in suits brought to test the validity of its provisions. The Suburban did not begin to again increase materially in value until in 1S9S, when there was a slight gain. It was returned to the guaranteed system in 1S90 and made of the value of ,500. Henry of Navarre was the first winner under this condition and won ,S50 net. The value was the same in 1S97, when Ben Brush won, but in 1S9S It was raised to 0,000 guaranteed and fell to the western horse Tillo, the change increasing the winners portion to ,S00. The Suburban remained at this figure until 1903, but by increasing the winners portion and diminishing the allotment to the second and third horses, the winner received ,S0O in 1901 and 1902, when the respective winners were Alcedo and Gold Heels. In 1903 the swelling prosperity and popularity of racing led to a marked change and the event was made a race with 0,000 added and the splendid three-year-old Africander reaped 0,490 for his owner when he landed first in front of Herbert and Hunter Raine. This was satisfactory to owners, but the club decided on another change and in 1904 the Suburban was again a guaranteed value stake, this time of the substantial sum of 0,000, at which it has remained and from which it will be increased by ,000 more. From its first running this great race has always been considered the handicap of American racing. The Brooklyn has usually been of the same value, and in recent years the Brighton Handicap has exceeded it in that regard, but neither has ever held quite such an important place in public estimation as the Suburban. Its frequent and marked fluctuations in value will appear surprising to those followers of the turf who have not kept track of this particular feature of its history. However, whether its monetary" return .was great or small, owners . and trainers have entertained the same opinion of the Suburban as the general public, and annually the greatest horses of each year have been nominated to compete for its honors. The increase to 3,000 for 190S will probably bring no more entries than 0,-000 would Imve done, but it adds to the prestige , of the club and is a timely acknowledgement of its , abounding prosperity and its . willingness to give owners a share of the returns of that prosperity. The varying net values of the Suburban are shown in detail in the following table: Year. Winner. A. Wt. Jockey. Val. Time. 1SS4 Gen. Monroe.. G 124 W. Donohue.,945 2:11J 18S5 Pontiac 4 102 Olney 5,855 2:09J 1SSG Troubadour ...4 115 Fitzpatrick.. 5,097 2:12J 18S7 Eurus, 4 102 Davis.. 6,005 2:12 18SS Elkwood 5 119 Martin 5.S12 2:074 1SS9 Itaceland 4 120 Garrison . . . 0,900 2:09J 1S90 Salvator 4 127 I. Murphy . 0,900 2:0GJ 1891 Loantaka 5 110 Bergen 9,900 2:07 1892 Montana 4 115 Garrison ...17,750 2:07? 1S93 Lowlander ....5 105 McDermott .17,750 2:00? 1594 Ramapo 4 120 Taral .. 12,070 2:0Gs 1595 Lazzarone 4 115 Hamilton .. 4,730 2:07J 1890 H. of Navarre.5 129 Griffin 5.S50 2:07 1897 Ben Brush 4 123 Slmms 5.850 2:07J 189S Tillo 4 119 Clayton 0,800 2:0SJ 1899 Imp 5 114 Turner C.SOO 2:0SJ 1900 Kinley Mack.. 4 125, McCue 0,800 2:0G4 1901 Alcedo 4 112 Spencer .... 7,800 2 :05 1902 Gold neels. . . .4 124 Wonderly .. 7,800 2:05i i903 Africander 3 110 Fuller 10,490 2:10s 1904 Hermls 5 127 Redfern .. .10,800 2:05 1905 Beldame 4 123 F. ONeill. .10.800 2:05s 1900 Go Between. ,.5 110 Shaw 10,800 2 :05e 1907 Nealou 4 113 W. Dugan.. 10,800 2:06j
