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MEELICK A DERBY WINNER. LEADS HIS OPPONENTS FOR THE CALIFORNIA CLASSIC FROM END TO END. Peter Sterling Fails Signally in the Waterhouse Cup Preliminary and Runs Unplaced — Great Crowd Views the Racing. Oakland. Gal., February 22.— Derby Day of 1908" at Oakland will go down into turf history as the banner day of racing on a California race course. All records in the matter of attendance and number of layers engaged were broken. The forty-three books doing business were w holly unable to supply the wants of the speculatively inclined public. Todays card was high-class. Fight of the best three-year-olds in training faced the starter for the big event, the California Derby at one mile and a quarter, including at least one turf star of great magnitude in the Madden bred Planudes -Ilithyia coll. Meelick. which started a heavily backed odds on favorite, of the others Stanley Fay am Farly Tide, i-oupled with OeStea as the De Annan entry, were next fancied, hi the actual running there was only one horse in the race and that was Meelick. which won all the way witli supreme ease. Dugan was seemingly able to restrain the gigantic chestnut back with his opponents ami finished pulling him up to a walk four lengths in front of the resolute-going Stanley Fay. which earned a game second in the chising strides from Farly Tide, the game and persistent topw eight. Hut for too close and strenuous early pursuit of the winner Early Tide might have scored second place. The tabulated history of the California Derby is as follows: Year. Winner. Wt. Jockey. Val. Time. IMf Scarborough 122 Coady ,885 2:11+, IMS. Traverser 122 Clayton ... 3,875 2:08V •Mt Cental 122 Piggott . . . 3,875 2:08J l!»oo Discontinued. IMtJw Frey 122 T. Sloan ..5.053 2:071 1902 Sombrero 122 OConnor .. 2.510 2:10t MM Claude 117 J. Daly ... 2..-.90 2:00 10O4 Bombardier 114 Se.- 2,755 2:10 MM Dr. Leggo 127 S. Bonner. . 3.410 2:11 1 MM Oood I.u.-k 117 W. Davis.. 5,405 2 :10i 10O7 Temaceo 117 F. Graham. 3.125 2:10t 1908 Meelick 122 E. Dugan . . 5.000 2:06t Stake taken over by the California Jockey Club when it purchased the tracks and rights of rival organizations. There was an attractive sidelight to the big feature, the Waterhcuse Cup Preliminary at one mile and three-quarters, which resulted in the most mystifying upset of the present meeting in the defeat of Peter Sterling. The Trotter horse was meeting a band of inferior class horses on even terms in tlie matter of weights and at a distance particularly suitable to a rating stayer, such as he has proven himself to lie. With Dugan up, Peter Sterling seemed the best bet of the card and lie was backed almost off the boards. The remainder of the card furnished high-class sM rt. and with the successes of practically law favorites, the afternoons racing was very satis factory. Barney Schreiber resumed his position in tlie big ring today after an absence of ten days 011 account of illness. Mr. Schreiber is far from being a well man and his condition is exciting concern among his friends.
