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THE WORLDS RICHEST RACE. Paris, May 25. — The Pacific Railroad was built, said a Scotch philosopher, merely that a few men In froek e.iats might Bee the Grand PriX lie Paris. It is still the richest horse race in the world. Diamo.id seekers sutler thirst in the Transvaal, rubber banters perish in the Orinoco OOSe, and weary men tight slurp blight on Australian plains in hope of seeing the Grand Prix de Paris. African kings. Indian rajahs. Arab sheiks, Siberian princes, Turk ish senators dream of it. Then finally of a superb June morning we are all together on the boulevard, where sunlight dancing through Ihe green shade speckles the wood pave went. Weve lunched, and we take our coffee OB the«sidewalk terraces, buy violets from tbe flower girls, baggie for our Hue Turf Chronicle, glance at the Parisian dope sheet and laugh lor mere gladness at the slow procession of antediluvian cabmen ami smart taxi chauffeurs prepared to gouge us for the great event. We dont mind the gouge: it is their day; all want to go to the Oraud Prix, and nearly all find customers to take thei.i. African kings and Indian rajahs have Ibeir turnouts ordered in advance, hut well adTiaed diamond, rubber, sheep and railroad ■parts will dicker on the curb [or just the trip out —two or three dollars. Then when the race is over we wont have to put in two hours hunting for our paid in advance equipage. Well bail any likely-rig, show gold and ride in triumph to Aruicuouville Of the Chateau de Madrid. Doubtless the ride out to the Derby is howling happiness, as gaudy as a mesial dream, hut it is high pressure gayety, alcohol stoked. Tbe vast procession to Longchamps is in cooler tones. Its gavety is sparkling soda. Paris sunlight. Paris perfumes, the toilets ol a hundred thousand pretty women rolling gayly westward through the avenues — what need of other stimulant? Tbe whole 4,000.000 population has gone tipsy in the air and sunlight. Half a million get to the race track or near it. River steamboats unload tens of thousands. The Suresnes. St. Cloud and Boulogne trolleys transport other thousands in long trains. The 26,000 cabs and taxi-aulos of the capital make no pretence Of doing workaday trips; all seek to ""do their Grand Prix," anil even those cabman who find no fares loaf in the Bois. get tipsy and whoop back to Paris in the universal rush when all is ever. In every Paris street tbe stay at homes are at the window--. s inpa I helically watching the new clothes bound for Longchamps. Every i pie Uial pays 40 cents for the pelouse the field enclosure, carries the Grand Prix money of six neighbors. At the corner cafe waiters take Juo bets ,,| he remainder of the population for clandestine bookmakers paying laris mutuel prices. What it comes to, judge by last years Paris mutuels only. 1 refer to money that was carried OBCSdj, corn illy, to the race track and placed with the governments officials in a pool is divided among those who picked tbe winner, less eight per cent, raked oil for specific charities, prizes and expenses of the Jockey Club. Here are the totals: Pesage fashionable, 1.040,500 francs; pavilion dollar entrance. 244,005; pelouse popular. 1.19O.0S0 — loial 2,474.673 francs — almost half a million dollars. Hum which eight per cent, is deducted. Thus government and Jockey club charged the Parisian public 0,000 just to hold its Oraud Prix money Iwenty minutes. The bookmakers of the paddock raked off who knows how much more from tbe rich, silent sports wlm bet by nods and fingers. Leave them out. But the clandestine milking of the stay at homes is counted equal to tbe Paris mutuel figures, 0,000 uii.i e paid by the Paris populace in one June day to avenge Waterloo. Tbev began avenging Waterloo in 1S01-63. when the Jeeke] lub established the Grand Prix of 0. IKK, open to three-year olds of all lands, a flat run ning race. 3.000 yarns. It was attacking England on her own ground, where she had ln-en invincible, and England promptly answered by winning the lirsl Craud Prix race with Mr. Bivillea The Hanger. "A second Waterloo!" the French mourned, but when next year the Banker Detasaarrea Vermont beat two English favorites they rejoiced it a Water loo avenged. Thenceforth the annual fight was on between the Paris populace and a few wealthy Lnglish peers and others who wouuld risk crossing the channel with their crack bones so close to die Derby, tbe Oaks and Ascot. I ho Parisians discovered only one way to slum-thai they were fighting. "Keep the English horses price down!" easse to be the watchword. Bowl Wliv. in betting on the English horse. So betting on the English horse became a patriotic Preach doty. Now and then the English horse would win. In l 0 ; it was the Duke of Beauforts Ceylon, in istis the Marquis of Hastings Pari, in ls72 Mr. BaviUet Oremorne and in ls74 Mr. Marshalls Trent. Then came a period of six French years. It was followed bj an equally remarkable seven years, in lijch the English bone was live times winner in ivsn. Mi. Brewers Robert the Devil; in lssi. J. It. Keenes American Poxfaall; 1882, Bruce; 1885. Paradox; 1888, Mr. Vvmis Minting, with whom the luck of the English horse seemed really to end. The i-i. ii.li homes arere so good and then- were so many of these, and Paris jockeys had the habit of going all the way. For three years three scatter In1- French stables won, then things became n spe ciatised that ■ remarkable Grand Prix duel went on for seven years. It begin in 1800 by Bare* de Schicklcis winning. Then Edmoad Blanc won twice. Heniarkal.le 1 It was to be sssre so. Tbe duel became triangular between the Rothschild, Caillaut and Fill I Plain- Stables for seven years, except when the Saint Alary stable took the prize off in 19 il and Parisians had become s seed to this ape realisation that when Mr. BphrossTs Finassear won the Grand Prix in 1008 everyone predicted a Botha child Blanc Bphrossl series. The English borne? Parisians were still betting on it ouly from u sense of patriotic duty. They lust their money cheerfully — to avenge Waterloo. So wben Major Loders Spearmint actually won in 1906 the French patriots pocketed their unexpected winnings dazed-like, meditated half an hour, then hur rahed cheerfully for England. "Its the -entente cordiale!" they explained, and sure enough in 1907 the Hothschild stable bobbed up with another winner, San Souei II. The entente cordiale had been good for once, but French horses are getting better and better and America and other countries are to be counted with. In 190S the winner was W. K. Vanderbilts Northeast, in 19 9 Baron Maurice de Rothschilds Verdun and in 1910 a Franco-Russian horse. Nuage, owned by abate. Cheremeteff, who. like Mrs. Langtry in England, owns and personally manages a breeding farm and racing stable outside Paris. Such are the foundations of the Grand Prix, but the foundations only. What the Parisians win or iose in bets is absolutely trifling. When they lose most Paris still wins — the Grand Prix is a sure atal certain 100 to 1 shot for the Parisian commerce that exploits art, cbic, taste, precision, lightness, brightness, novelty, luxury and pleasure. The Grand Prix and the salons ring the bell for all the world to flock to Paris. The Grand Prix is the climax of the season. In particular tbe Grand Prix sets the worlds styles. M. Fallieres. president of the republic, is simply forced to show up at the horse race. Army officers in force showing their gold. blue, black and cherry uniforms and 10.000 troops In parade tenue give eclat. Troops line the route. Troops make color splashes in the greenery. Stop gambling on the Grand Prix? Let them try it. Once tl.ey tried it. Some day I may tell you how Parisian commerce made its voice heard and in the name of Parisian prosperity forced tbe govern ment to purify the races — by becoming universal bookmaker. The course is a vast flowery garden under delicious trees. There is a palace of cream colored stone: its wings are lost in greenery. The open air bars are bowers. Ice tinkles in their orangeades and chatn-pagne cups: their customers are flowers of women, buds of gills. Observe the tan track behind the bank of roses. Where is the race track? Thousands never see it. Now and then they easli their tickets with the Government and turn again to watch the worlds greatest ixposition of beauty in new clothes.
