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AN ENGLISH MINOR RACE MEETING, Incidents of an Afternoons Sleepy Sport at Bath as Seen by an American, New York. May 21. — American Race Goer does not think much of the minor English meeting and amusingly describes that at Bath on Tuesday last by cable to the Herald in this fashion: "Any American or anv one else in London who contemplates spending a day at the Bath race meeting had better take two davs for the job. or. still better dont go. As a trip to wallow in pretty scenery, made up of fertile lii Ids. wooded hills, and hloofning orchards, under a glorious blue sky with fleecy clouds, its all very tine, but as a race meet in- its about the worst managed and most uninteresting all: ir that stupidity and incompetence could conjure up. "The Bath authorities who located this track seemed to hold about the same opinion of race tracks SI does Governor Hughes — that theyre pestilential things, to be put on one side. "They not only put this track to one side, but they put it on the top shelf as well. Bath is three boms ride from London by train, and tin- course is four mil a half miles from the station and about a hall mile up in the air. It is located on top of a young mountain, with the steepest road leading to it that it was ever my unhappy lot to be dragged up by a suffering horse. I felt like asking the horses pardon. "Bath is a very old oily. It is certainly old enough to know better than to have such steep streets. When you g-t on top there is a beautiful view of tin- rolling hills of Somerset. "A measly little grandstand, a track that I wouldnt ride :i donkey around, a few hundred people and many thousand cubic feet of fresh air if that is Somersets idea of a pnpular race course, then lead me t" a graveyard for snyety. "The main Interest was centered in the Badminton plate 1 race for 11.000. It was easily and prettily won lv Lord Boaeberys horse. Allquando, with tbe Unerlcan colt, Truckee. third. With tins exception American bones were conspicuous by their licence, and HO were Americans. A lonely New Yorker who traveled out on Hie same train with me was Hi,, onlj on" I saw there, lie wont go again, and as to American horses, why. they would have good cause ESC damage suits il they were ever Forced to run oil top of that mountain. "There was comparatively little betting, and no hod; seemed to have made or lost much money es ,,.|.; il,. cabe en. Iliey reaped a golden harvest Probably lln-v needed the money. They looked SO, snvwaj Their aaktait price from station to course was Ofteen shillings a head. I licit iniue down to •II took an hour to crawl up there. Winn von Wanted to go hack, however, they hid you at their 111,1. il was fifteen shillings or you could walk .a staj tinre. i.itiie recked Ibey whether you cainrbl the London train 01 nol II you were foolish enough I,, go to the lbrt h mooting, why. you could lust pay i..i ,1 We "lid. 11 coal more to attend the Bstb rapes than auy of the ten others Ive ttvvu to lu England, and the races were the poorest. Never again. "i lie paddock was a dreary, wind swept field. I asked ■ policeman what the legal fare from track to statfcm was. "How far is it V he asked. Four miles and a half. I replied. "He thought for a moment or two. or pretended to. and answered: I couldnt say; can your "Heat that for sublime ignorance on the part of a local policeman. "After all. its no wonder there was no big crowd present; why should there be:"
