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NOVELTY IN RACE TRACK PROPOSED. S. C. Hildreth. whose stable of cracks now quartered at Emeryville represents the investment of a considerable fortune, advances a novel idea for the treatment of the Emeryville track. It is well known that in protracted spells of wet weather the going at Emeryville becomes so deep that at times it is actually dangerous. Hildreth declares that the application to the surface of the track of a liberal quantity of crude oil similar to that used for road work will effectively solve tho problem that the track ollicials And so troublesome each winter. Oh account of the large amounts that he has invested in high-class horses nildrelh has been giving the subject of a safe track in wet weather much study during the past year or two. AVhile in the east the past summer he conducted experiments on a stretch of road adjacent to his residence, tho results of which convinced him that oiling the track will prove a panacea for the troubles that have to he faced here each succeeding season. Hildreth found, after he had oiled and harrowed his stretch of road thoroughly, that the heaviest rains failed to make it muddy, while adjoining roads were veritable quagmires. The oil-impregnated soil shed the falling rain, while the adjacent ground absorbed it. Dr. Rowoll. trainer for T. II. Williams, who had suggested the oil treatment to Hildreth, inspected the oiled road several times and was impressed with its possibilities. Since his arrival on the coast Hildreth has discussed the matter with superintendent James Grant of the Emeryville track. The plan represents such a radical departure from existing methods that tho officials naturally look upon it with distrust, but midroth is confident that a test of it on a small section of the track would result in its immediate adoption. He believes that .horses would run over such a track just as fast as they do under existing conditions and that an. oiled track, well worked, would be much easier on a horses feet and legs than the ordinary dirt track of today. There would be hardly any variation in the speed of the track from day to day, no matter what the state of the weather might be. nildrelh declares it is needless to expatiate upon the advantages of a track that would be uniform at all times.
