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BRILLIANT RACING IN PROSPECT FOR DOUGLAS PARK Ixnlsvillo Ky May 24 000 Kentucky Handicap as tne opening feature or the two weeks spring meeting which opeits there on Monday next Manager John Ilachmeister jnd his associates have followed a preceibiit long pop ¬ ular with many of tie foremost cmrses opera ed throughout the Ililtcd States from time to time timeMore More than forty years ago file famous West Chester Handicap was the star attraction of the spring meeting at fashionable Jerome Park the president of which organization was that leader of society Leonard W Jerome He had associated with him such masters of finance as tlie elder Au ¬ gust Belmoiit and William R Travers On the wall of the Jockey Club ollice in New York may still lie seen a painting of one of the first Westciiester Handicaps It is the work of Scott ScottWhen When Jerome Park passed into history and the Coney Island Jockey Club succeeded it in the east as the race track patronized by the elect the fea j ture race became the Suburban Handicap It was first decided in the spring of iSSl when It was won by that superb horse General Monroe Until the passing of this track within sight of the rolling sea i the Suburban was annually the really great feature of spring thoroughbred sport Tiie Gravesend course was another tine eastern track operated with a similar handicap fixture known ns the Brooklyn Handicap It was first run in 1SS7 and in a thrilling contest with only heads separating the placed horses Dry Monopole beat Blue Wing and Hidalgo I IFor For years numboring more than fourscore Sara toga always had a big handicap for threeyearolds and upward as a feature of the opening of the stnni mcr meeting This event was lor many seasons styled the Excelsior Handicap Later it became the Saratoga Handicap It was in this ric in 1S71 that tlie great threeyearold Frogiown defeated the three champion fouryearolds Hamburg Chilllcoihu and Finesse There never was a race rim in Cali ¬ fornia since the days of the 20000 four mile con ¬ tests that aroused so much interest as the 10000 Burns Handicap at Oakland At Washington Park Chicago the Wheeler Handicap divided honors wit the American Derby and the Fair Association Handi ¬ cap at St Louis was always a great feature of the Mound Citys spring meeting meetingIn In reviving spring racing at Douglas Park Manager Ilachmeister hit upon the 1500aKcntncky Hiti diJ cap as the big feutnro race ne71id not Want to offer at this plant a Derby race as a rival either to Churchill Downs fixture Of thirtynine years history or the Latonia Dqfliy vitli it8 unbroken rec ¬ ord since 1S84 Instead of such a thruoyearold event he followed the plan of tho wSurses Hereto ¬ fore mentioned by settling upon tho Kentucky Jlun dlcap today Americas richest turf ovpnt ovpntThe The crack threeyearolds have already raced In the Kentucky Derby and Oaks at Churchill Downs Thev are also booked to go in the Latonia Derby It remains for the Kentucky Handicap to bring together the stars of that age as contestants against the older cracks of tho racing world favorites with the onlookers as well as with tlie speculative public In this respect tlie Kentucky Handicap this spring will bear a striking resemblance to the famous City and Suburban Handicap in England which has nourished in that country for more than half a century centurySecretary Secretary E W Magiuu lias with care adjusted the weights for the various ellgibles engaged in this race It is almost a certainty that not less than twelve to fifteen starters will face the barrier next Monday Those nearly certain to go Include the Kentucky Derby winner Donerail and his three vearold rivals Ten Point Gowell Foundation Yankee Notions and Floral Park Among the prob ¬ able starters of the older contingent will be Frog legs Adams Express Buckhorn Rudolfo Rolling Stone Flora Fina Irish Gentleman Any Port Im ¬ pression and Miss Thorpe Undoubtedly this will be the beginning of an annual feature race at this beautiful course which as tlie years pass will ber come as glorious as any of the older events now so popular with admirers of racing racingt t The meeting to be inaugurated under such favor ¬ able auspices will be marked throughout by a pro ¬ gram bristling with quality On Friday May 30 the Memorial Handicap also for threeyearolds and upward witli 2000 added is to be decided This race is at six furlongs All of the great sprinters now in training in Kentucky are eligible to start including that phenomenal fouryearold Tilly Sprite which lias an unbeaten record to date this season On Wednesday June 4 the l est of the selling platers will engage in the Speculation Stakes for threeyearolds and upward one mile and a six ¬ teenth This event has 1500 in added money and the nominations number eightyfour Among the entries are many horses which have heretofore not figured in races of this class classOn On the closing day Saturday June 7 the Spring Trial Stakes five furlongs will be run Tlie 250o added to this stake will place it after the Breed ¬ ers Futurity at Lexington and the Cincinnati Trophy at Latonia as the richest race in America for twoyearolds For this event three performers as yet unbeaten are eligible They are Imperator Vandergrift and the sensational gelding Little Nephew for which II C Ilallenbeck offered the princely sum of 20fK0 which offer M B Grnber declined Mr Gruber owns a modest little grocery store just outside the Downs and this he offered to sell to Mr Ilallenbeck adding that no amount of money would induce him to part witli his son of Uncle Another brilliant twoyearold eligible to this race is Old Rosebud which lias been defeated only by Little Nephew Other creditable twoyear old winners in this stake are E R Rradleys high priced colt Boots and Saddle the dam of which Is Cap and Bells the only American winner of the Epsom Oaks All told the nominations number 119 119The The overnight purses and handicaps range in value from il0 to Si0 Tlie program in this con ¬ nection is made up for the present to cover six days The final weaks card will be prepared as tlie meeting progresses progressesMany Many varied and costly improvements have been inmle by Manager Hachmclster since last fall To ¬ day Douglas Park ranks as one of the most at ¬ tractive racing plants in this country It will pre ¬ sent a striking appearance on the inaugural day and the crowds journeying there from Louisville from throughout Kentucky and from distant cities will be delighted Manager Ilachmeister anticipates a recordbreaking attendance for the running of the Kentucky Handicap and from the opening to the closing meetingT of the meeting T Hart Talbot the Bourbon County member of the Kentucky State Racing Commission still owns Wainamoiiuii the Kentucky Oaks winner of 1002 and the once speedy sprinter Talpa The latter lias a yearling bay lilly by Kilkorran and a suck ¬ ling bay colt by the same sire while Tallwt Oaks winner lias no yearling but recently foaled a Iiand soViie chcStnuf filly by Star Shoot Mr Talbot has mated Wainamoinen this spring to the Futurity winner Ogdeii and Talpa to that great race horse Theo AbadieX good performer Tom King is now at work again and appears to be going soundly Abadie will not try to hurry Tom King in his preparation and probably will make no special effort to race him before the Latonia summer meeting lie thinks it may be jiossible to get him to the post at Douglas Park The slow condition of tlie track at the Downs Influenced Catesby Woodford not to send his good filly Christmas star to the post in the Oaks Tills daughter of Star Shoot is doing well in training but she fancies only a fast track Her owner will not send her to the post in the Kentucky Handi ¬ cap Monday but she is sure to race at Douglas Park ParkTrainer Trainer W II Karrick has set Tuesday as the day on which he will ship the horses of II K Knapp F R Hitchcock and Thomas Hitchcock to Belmont Park The Ilallenbeck string will not go cast until after tlie Douglas Park meeting ends and trainer Frank Taylor may decide to remain west for Latonia racing as well Ills idea is to get his horses in the best condition for tho Saratoga meeting and he would like to add several good horses to the stable before shipping east eastMany Many people have wondered what becomes of the cancelled parlnintiial tickets at tlie big race tracks Superintendent Frank Keegan has set up a furnace on the south side of the track where tho tickets are burned each morning A watchman stands guard while the pasteboards are being destroyed and does not leave until every ticket has been con ¬ sumed sumedManager Manager John Ilachmeister will introduce an innovation in ixilicing the grounds at Douglas Park during tlie coming meeting by securing from tin various big cities a leading detective to assist Capt James Jacobs in his duties at the course This is to insure to the public entire security at the track and eliminate tlie possibility of patrons of the course falling victims to the lightlingered gentry
