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HILDRETHS DEAL WITH DUGAN. The agreement by which E. Dugan rides for Sam Hildreth this winter is a peculiar one. There was no transfer of the contract on the boy and no financial consideration in the matter, the arrangement simply being that Hildreth is to pay Dugan for his services and to pay his expenses. Hildreth is in exactly the same position as regards the crack lightweight rider for the winter season as is EL P. Whitney for next year — he has first call on his services. The report that Whitney had bought the contract on the boy for a reported price of 5,000 is not correct. Durnell says. The millionaire New York turfman has nothing more than first call on little Dugan for the coming season. Hildreth will have him until April 1. when., after a brief stay at home, he will leave for New York to report to the Whitney stable April 15. The stars of the Hildreth stable will do most of their racing the remainder of the winter season at the new Arcadia track. Hildreth made some late changes in his plans and instead of sending only a carload of his yearlings down to Los Angeles and having some of the older horses of the stable sent to him later in the week, he decided to have all the stars of his stable, old and young, go at once. He shipped two carloads of horses to the southern track, the consignment consisting of Montgomery, 1nele. Meelick. Rapid Water, Veil. Gene Russell and Tony Faust, in addition to seven of the most promising yearlings out of his bunch of twenty-eight. The departure of these horses takes away all the glamor that has heretofore attached to the Hildreth stable, for. with Guiding Star the only one in the barn that has ever shown much, anil the Crescent City Derby winner a pronounced cripple, the present available racing material in the barn at Oakland is very commonplace. Later, when the two-year-old racing begins, it may be otherwise, for some of the nineteen youngsters left there may prove to be cracks, as all the Hildreth youngsters have shown well in their work. In taking the step he has taken. Mr. Hildreth disclaims that he is actuated by anything other than a regard for his own interests. He has a lot of money invested in horseflesh and the expenses attached to the running of sucli a stable as his are enormous. He simply must win races and win frequently, too. and to do that he must race where he .-an give his horses the work which is necessary to make and keep thein fit. and this he cannot do where conditi his are such as they have been here and may continue to be much of the winter. He will be able at the Los Angeles track to prepare Montgomery. 1ncle and Meelick for their stake engagements at Oakland and it is a sure thing that at least Montgomery and Meelick will be shipped back to fill valuable engagements, the former undoubtedly for the 0,000 Burns Handicap.
