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BERLINS NEW RACE TRACK. Murray Howe. who. went abroad with the famous Billings trotters, writes from Berlin an interesting description of the magnificent new race track that has recently been , opened there. Concerning the course Itself he says: "There is au inner track one-half mile long, made of straw laid several inches deep on top of sod that had beeu previously rolled with a heavy roller. This straw track is intich used for training purposes. The footing is surprisingly good on this track in all kinds of weather. Our horses like it and ean step as fast as one cares to ride over it. This straw-sod track is a good thing and 1 am sure many of our Arnerioau stock farms could make and Use one to rood advantage during the wet days of early spring. The track proper is shaped like our best trotting tracks, hut it is. like most of the European tracks, made of coarse sand laid on a foundation of macadam and broken brick. After it has been floated it looks like a polished floor to the eye. but for the horse it is so dead and lifeless that it jars his teeth loose when he hits it. and what is worse, breaks away from under him at every step. Such tracks are. of course, designed to permit racing rain or shine. If the wet weather track is a good thing from a racing point of view, there is every reason to believe that we could build better tracks than these along similar lines. "The entire truck is surrounded by grandstands and cafes, where tons of thousands of | eople can sit and sip their coffee and beer and watch the races at the same time. All of these buildings are located on elevations above terraced lawns sloping to the track. Behind these stands, coffee houses and cafes, the grounds are all laid out like a beautiful park, with walks, drives, trees, ornamental shrubbery, flowers and many small lakes. In every cosy nook among the trees and around the water, there are rustic seats and tables."
