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KING JAMES METROPOLITAN HILDRETHS CRACK WINS FIRST BIG EASTERN STAKE OF THE YEAR CANTERING. Belmont Park Racing Begins with a Splendid Attendance — Oral Betting System Developed and Used Without Friction. New York. May 1"!. — Belmont Park opened it* gates to metropolitan devoted of racing today. ilidcr lie loudlcss skv the glorious race course shnsjr like a ureal eamM in tin- sunshine. Tin- al Irndsnrr was nil— till al 1"..imki. 2.000 of which w«ie in the cliibhou-o ml— W, From every view point it was a splemiidh encouraging I week lav opening. Messrs. August Belmont, S. hude. larsons. Philip J. Dw.v.r ami Andrew Miller all sahl us Hilieli. adding that bene* forth there will be every opportunity in the world to outbid racing success tnllv under existing conditions. The ante receipts eMeeded tSO.OOv. Hundreds of men paid their admission fees who liad never before been called upon to i ay. All classes of horsemen. • inner:, trainers and yockeya were i.i«- l tin- recall tion three dollars to net to the track, the ecep rJuns being owner* who were represented by stake entile: daring the afternoon. No ticket sellers were employed on the trains or at the terminals as here lofore and the congestion at the track gate booth was very neat in consequence. There were many in stances ol ii, in and women standing in line for fully twenty minutes before securing tickets. No I kaMkinx as it existed on,- year ago was attempted. Then was no held Whatever wager nit, waa done was on the lawn directly in fr.mt ot the grandstand and in tile vicinity of the stewards ataad, where fully and.4NN layers and backers plied their luisiness. Ii appeared like a Broad afreet cuil. market oa a dossal scale. irices wire openly quoted and flimsy sheets with weights, .jocko.. 1 :ii I scratches were freely disti Ibati d before spei illation on each race. There was mi attempt to conceal III. netting. The Plnkertons employed by the Joekej « "lull requested la vers, however, to make their settle inents outside the course after the last race. The Queens county authorities wen- represented by Dis trict Attorney V. . Coles. Sheriff loaeph P. Foster iiniler Sheriff William IIulz and county detective liiiiisciiinuu. with twelve in plain clothes, and thev all declared that no violation of the Hail Agic-w anti betting law had oceiirr.il during the afternoon. it sjoea without saying that then were no arreet*. llu transactions of tin ■,, lv established turf curb market went on with the smoothness and precision of a high priced Swiss timepiece. The racing was sufficiently satisfactory to please tlie most i i ailing The !»• tr rue. tin- Metropolitan Handicap, was wop by King James, the beavilf barked popular choice, and admittedly one of the greatest racers now in training on the Aintiii.iii turf. Hihlteths crack was the dominant fact ,r throughout. Eleven brilliant racers elected to try conclusions for the rich prize. Fayette, the Kraal Madden two year old of laal season, was the taauei up. While never at any ataage of the racing men ■dag to the winner, lie showed quality of the highest sort in todays race. There was a thrilling and spectacular struggle for third honors, in which Jaegier prevailed. It was a Madden day. AaMe from the Metropoliian defeat the master of Hamburg Place sent seven starters to the Boat, won the first race with l.adv Bedford and ran third with Miss Kearney, second ■mil unplaced with Hampton Court and SI. union in llu- second, first and third with New market and Naughty Boy in the third uncovering in this pair two juveniles of probable high das-, finally winding up with the runner up in tie hig race in Payette URrhdy referred to. More glory for the Madden colon in that he bred the first four horses in the opener as well as King .lames, the Metropolitan victor. The stable announced no preferred t audi date in the first, hut declared to win with Hampton Oonrt in the second and Newmarket in the third. Mi. Madden was early in the throng, glowing with enthusiasm over the victory of Sir Martin in Eng land yesterday. lie deplored the fact that he did not bet the $.~ .0O i wlieti his horse was at long odds instead of betting Herman B. Duryca that sum that be would heat I.avardo in the Derby. The treaaeantoua eheeiuar which greeted the field of horses engaged in the first race as they paraded t» the peat was immediately accepted by everybody :is an omen of success. of all tie grand races decided the steeplechase made the biggest hit. It culminated in a ncck-and-neck finish between Agent and Sir Wooster, which brought occupants of the grandstand to their feet in a frenzy of excitement. S. . Hlldreth was very confident of victory with King .lames before the race, and was showered wile congratulations after it was over. He said that King Jaatea was the very best horse he ever trained. The big bay was under suspicion of un-oundiic. s before he bejpaa his winning career in California, but now has no blemish of any kind. J. E. Madden remarked before the race that if Hihlreths horse was the only one he had to brat that Fayette could not lose. Madden is not going to Fngland to see Sir Martin run in the Derby, as lie would have to sail next Saturday to lie there in time. The stewards of the fnited Hunt and Steeplechase Association have notified the Jamestown Jockey Club that they would withhold permit to rnu steeplechaser there until their course was built up to the regula tion standard. Hurdle races would lie allowed, bow-ever. II. P. Whitneys Elizabethan stopped when half way to the post in the third race and kept her opponents waiting at the post for marly ten minutes before she condescended to ioin them. Cowan fell lame so badlv in her race that she was with ditlieulty led off the track. Mary Davis was the medium of a huge but un--ine.-sfiil betting coup. William Mauley and W. Ogden Bishop were elected members of the Jockey Club at Belmont Dark today. Heir Weinberg, ihe prominent German turfman. was an interested visitor and during the running of tin- tilth race was an occupant of the stewards sland as a guest of Mr. Belmont. Herr Weinberg. whose big racing stud is located at Frankfort on -the-Main, has employed several famous American jockeys In the past decade. Joe Hotter is his latest laspart-n, acquisition in that line. At a meeting of the board of governors of the Turf l.cn.voleiit Association held on May K. it was decided to disband the organization. An imperative call has In i ii sent on! notifying members to lie on hand at the Cadillac Hotel next Tuesday evening to ratify this action. Ihe funds on hand will be divided pro rata and will leave each member with about ihi apiece.
