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RACING IN HONG KONG. The Hong Baaag race eourse. known as the Happy Valle. lies abeiil a mile out ol V ietoiia. the seaport of the island. It is temaikable for being the only level bit of grassed land in Hong kong. is very smooth, and nearly a mile in circuit. A eituler track for training lias been laid down within the race e,,uise. and the inside tiel.i. being the general reetea ii isoit. .-..in a ins boekey and football grounds and If awls raits. Ahoajl ten years ago some Brltiah i. sj, i. pis. .ndi. wad with saartlag prm livities. noti,--i HUT that the onlv level pateli of ground was a marshy des.it. s.-t alioul developing its possibilities, and this v«i v BrettJT raee ionise was the result. Tli.-n I few Waler poui.-s were imported, and in IMS the lirst Water Champion Stakes raee was run. Only four ponies raced, and al these one man owned three: roaaeajaeatly it was rather a tame and disappointing roateat. Water ponies proving tixi expensive. Chinese ponies were next introduee.l. These being found in lacge nunibirs in the wilds of Mon g.dia and Korea, were hrou-jiit in droves to the ports of Shanirhai and Tientsin, where liorsc dealers sup plied the demand ol the Homr kong sportsmen. Though small, averaging only thirtien hands, these Chinese jioiiies me very useful for either riding or driving, and. having line staying powers, make good raeers. The Hon": Kong Jockey Club divides the racing ponies lata three i lasses. The tirst class, or "srril-tins." are untrained ponies, unknown to the public, and these onlv tire eligible for the Happy Valley lieihy Baee. for lb.ng kong. too. has its Derby. A laein:; man will send north for a consignment of young jMinies. aaj the chance that there may lie one or two crack racers among them. More often than not the speculation turns out ■ failure. The second class, or "subscription griffins." have had some training, and have attained a minimum time of one minute forty seconds for tliree-i|iia iters of ■ mile. SubscrilMis for "sabar rliittaa griffins" are advert bsed for in the autumn by the Hong kong Jockey lub. A subscriber must guarantee ...« for the paajr. and. when a sufficient number has been enrolled, a dale is set for the drawing of lots, to he held al the Shanghai Horse I.azaar. One liov. contains ii:e names of the subscribers, and nnolher the nambera of the trained erriffins. A name when drawn la called out. and a imhi.vs number is drawn at the sum- time. It is thus by pure chance that a subscriber sometimes becomes possessed of a good I p..iiv. The third class of poni-s. Called "aged." consists ol those that have already raced in other pla.-es than Hong Kaajg. Homr Kongs vi.irly race meeting is held in February, the weather at that time licmg considered most suitable. There are three days of races, with an a -casioiial extra day. Ten races constitute a days program, and the stakes raiure from MM down ... *l.".i but for the Darby the amount is generally •*7.".i. with :i 1 sweepstakes added, the three placed |Mi!iies lakimr seventy, twenty and ten per cent, ; respcciivelv. Resides the money there is fr.- |nently a cup or trophy .awarded to the winner of the Herby. The liaiidicappini makes no allowance for age or ■ex. but mill For height. The weight for a thirteen hand pony i- lixed al 132 |m iiiiiIs. three pounds being added for every Inch over or under that height. Tboagfa II. .• weight is somewhat excessive for so small an animal, the raee is often run in quick time, tie- record of 2:d.V b.-ing made by ■ pony called Heather King, with ISi pounds on his back, in BMB. Hi.- length of the i-oursc is l.CKJO yards. The record in the lliaiiii ioa Stakes, one mile and a uuarler. was Blade by Spring Rose, which covered the dis-taui. in 2:M. In a mile and a half race. Daredevil and Dunoon ran a ib-ad beat in 3:121. which is the i. .-..id for thai dista at llimi; Kong. In BM8 Sprint; Rose won a mile and three i|iiar!ers race in the record ti if 3:471. The lion:; kong races are aaaaaaj the least costly iu I lie w-.rhl. beim: niosty taken part in by ania tea**, who train their own ponies. Tor ..". I man may subscribe for ■ irjitlin. train him for three pionths. and | av all n.-cessaiy ei.enses. The entry fee is .$."• per race. When Ihe ra-cing season is over, those ponies which are not sent on to the 1oochnw .1 ,mi.oi race* are sold bv aaetion, some that have Small ll il ti-emsi Ives creditably bringing as uiuch as IBM, tl gh often a l.iiluain inav lie had for . Small riue meetings dailaii the summer have lately become more freejnent, taking the place of the ir 1 1 k - itan.-is trhfch were popul.-ir some years ago. Austra la-ian.
