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PIMLICO SWAMPED WITH RAIN AND MUD. Statesman Runs Away from the Crack Filly Trance Gridiron Defeats Horace E. Baltimore. Md., October 20. Heavy rains which set in this morninT and continued all afternoon, turned the track at Piinlico into a lane of mud and slush, with the going a perfect quagmire. The fields were greatly reduced by withdrawals, four going to the post in the second, three in the fourth and sixth races and two in the closing one. The racing was tame and featureless, a niajority of the winners leading by big margins at the end. Favorites were successful in three of the races. Rufus. Berkeley and Aster dOr being the successful choices. The card in its original state was an excellent one. It was the best that had been offered by the club since the opening day and had the track been in good shape, some exciting racing would have been witnessed. As it was it was very ordinary, but this was to be expected under the conditions which prevailed. Besides the Stafford Purse, there were offered as features the Mount Washington Steeplechase. Despite the disagreeable weather the attendance was large and speculation brisk. The greatest upset of the afternoon was the defeat of George Odoms lilly. Trance, in the fifth race, for which she was a heavily backed odds-on choice. Trance was known to the a mud runner of merit. She met and beat Fitz Herbert over a heavy track last spring, and this line cost the public dearly. Trance was never a really dangerous contender in todays race. Statesman running away from her and winning by seven lengths. Statesman was fortunate in beating his opponents away front the post, ami this advantage meant much in the going this afternoon. McCarthy made the most of his advantage with Statesman and opened up a lead of a couple of lengths in the first sixteenth. Before they had gone a furlong, however. Trance was on almost even terms with the leader, but on the turn out of the backstretch faltered and was cut off and crowded back. Statesman then drew away into a big lead and at the finish was under restraint. Gridiron added another purse to the credit of David Dunlop when he heat the Rainey crack. Horace E.. twenty lengths in the closing race. In the early running McCarthy had Gridiron under restraint, but when he made his move at the half-mile ground his mount went to the front with a rush and in the stretch kept going away. Gridiron is one of the horses that Mr. Dunlop contemplates sending down to Cuba next winter to take part in the meeting to he given by the Havana Jockey Club at the Alinen-dares course. Steward Henry J. Morris received word from S. S. Howland that the AVashington Jockey Club had offered its course without cost to the gentlemen who proposed giving a meeting there this fall to follow that at Pimlico. He also stated that enough men would be retained by sunerintendent Strahan to keep the track in good condition all winter and that horsemen would be charged the nominal fee of per week a stall. Mr. Howland also wrote that II. C. Crickmore. the veteran racing official who was removed to a sanitarium a few weeks ago. is progressing favorably and will be about again in about ten days. J. T. Muir. with Polar Star and several others, got in from Toronto this morning. Herbert Grayson, one of the stable lads employed by C. H. Douglas, trainer of Palm, remounted the latter after he unseated Williams and. finishing the course, enabled Palm to get third money.
