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PLATERS MAKING TROUBLE. BY WINNING UNEXPECTEDLY AND REACHING THE PADDOCK LATE. St. Avon Defeats Marian Casey A. Musko-day Takes His Race Oakland Track Still a Morass. Oakland. Cal., December 20. Race-goers at Oakland are being seriously handicapped and the sport impaired by the everchanging track conditions. As in previous years, the lower class horses so numerously engaged in these days of rain and mud, furnish the majority of the upsets and form reversals and are the disturbing drawbacks to the local sport, norses of this kind that participated in the first and fifth races this afternoon arc recognized members of the "chemical" briga.de. They participate exclusively in these nnguessable go-as-you-please affairs and are not taken seriously by the stewards. Sliould Macbeth and Cholk Hedrick, respectively, the two winners which unexpectedly won, have their running so radically reversed that they should finish last in their next essay, it wpuld excite no comment. Aside from these contests, todays racing was far above the average in excellence. Many good horses were engaged in four races. In lieu of a single stake fixture the card contained two attractive purse races, both of which developed high-class sport. St. Avon, the second choice, at 18 to 5, won the first at five and a half furlongs from Marian Casey, the favorite, with Walter Miller np, after a long, and oxciting stretch drive, and A. Muskoday at odds-on, captured the latter under the same jockeys hard efforts. This was Millers second winning mount on a favorite, having previously scored with King of Mist in the mile and an eighth selling race. Exquisite weather prevailed and the attendance was very large. Thirty-seven books handled the ring business. Midmont and Maxtress, announced starters for the opening race, did not show up in the paddock until betting had progressed for ten minutes. Bets were declared off and twenty minutes additional time allowed to make a new book. The tardy arrivals were ordered withdrawn and their respective trainers fined 0 each for being late. Mose Goldblatt has wired from New Orleans to Secretary Percy W. Treat for fifteen stalls, which were immediately reserved for his use. Goldblatt will ship immediately to Oakland. Three of Bur-lew and ONeills racers are to be included in the shipment. Presumably Juggler, Keep Moving and Dashaway, whicli are extensively entered in local stakes. Jockey Vandusen, whose suspension at New Orleans last winter has been lifted, will resume riding at Oakland shortly. Burleigh came out of his last race in very bad condition. The closing of the 0,000 Seattle Handicap of 1009 at one- mile and a quarter lias been put off until spring, April next, on account of the Illness of Horace Egbert, its projector. It was to have closed next week. Frank J. Farrell of New York is negotiating for next seasons services of Eddie Lynch, the present seasons lightweight jockey, find. S. C. Hildreth has left here for Los Angeles, where he will watch the racing at the new track for a few days.
