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CHARLESTON MEETING IN ITS STRIDE. Improvement in Patrocaje and Interest Plainly Perceptible as Season Advances, Charleston, S. C, December 13. With the winter race meeting at Palmetto Park settled into its routine, the sport is getting better from every angle. The attendance has shown a healthy Increase since the opening and visitors from the north aud west are coining in daily. The real influx of visitors will begin after the holidays and it is the unanimous opinion among turfmen here that the last two months of the meeting will be the best seen at any winter race track in recent years.. A tinge of wintry weather prevailed in this vicinity for several days during the past week, but the warmth of the sun made the days enjoyable at the races. Local residents assert that this brand of weather is almost unheard of here and they were as much taken by surprise as the visitors. Even the wintry atmosphere did not serve to lessen interest in the race meeting and the attendance held up throughout the brief cold spell. During the lirst two weeks of the meeting form has been well observed among the cheap selling platers as well as by the stake and handicap tiorscs. Tlie number of horses that have won two races has been surprisingly large and their performances have served to give form studeats an excellent line on their ability. H. G. Bedwells formidable stable has cut the biggest figure here despite the fact that the Colorado turfman has not won a slake. Thus far he is the only owner to win half the card in one day. Bed-wells success has been mostly with his cheap horses and is In a large measure due to the skilful manner in which they are being ridden by jockey Lloyd Deronde. This capable little rider overlooks 110 opportunity to get Ids mounts home first and he is 1 filing just as hard when he is far back as when he is in a conto.iding position. Several close finishes have resulted in Bedwells favor through his riders energetic work. The Kentucky owners continue to make a good showing and several of the horses which raced with success on the Blue Grass circuit this year have shown to advantage here. The eastern turf followers have now gotten a fairly good line on the Kentucky horses and the Kentuckians have learned much of the ability of the horses which raced in the east a. id this makes things better all around. .1". C. Calm has no horses in training here this winter, having disposed of his last two. Celesta and .Mike Cohen, shortly after he arrived here from La-tonia. They were purchased by Lew Marion. Cahu will take up his old campaigner, Mockler, in the early spring and race him in Kentucky. Mockler is now turned out on a farm near Lexington, Ky., and his owner thinks that there are still a few good races left in him. Archie Zinimer is having his share of good luck at this .meeting,, having thus far wou two races! and finished second once with Ann Tilly, for which, be paid 35. This filly has run some creditable races here in fair fields and has shown gamenoss each time. There seems little likelihood of Theresa Gill again going to the lwst here this winter. Trainer J. W. .May has hopes of getting her into condition to do some racing during the latter part of the meeting, but her Injured leg, the result of having struck herself, has continued to swell for several days and it is more than likely that she will have to be thrown out of training. This filly was at her best when she was injured and she figured to show to advantage in the various stakes for which she was entered. In her only start here she won the Fort Sumter Inaugural Handicap and beat some of the best horses of the east. Including Sir John Johnson. That Milton B.. which made a new American record for one mile and three-sixteenths at Latonia last July, will be able to race during the Palmetto Park meeting is the belief of his owner, J. W. Johnson. The horse broke down iu the Latonia Cup race just after lie had recovered his winning form and when lie arrived here he was iu a bad way. He had a badly swollen leg and he was hardly able to stand up. The leg is responding to treatment and it is believed that he can be given light exercise in a few weeks. U. F. Carman has a large stable of horses here, but his former star racer and Kentucky Derby winner. Meridian, is on the shelf. This horse was not entered for any of the stakes here and it is unlikely that he will do any racing at Palmetto Park. Mr. Carman still has The Turk, which has been a burden on his stable for some time and he also will not be able to race for a long time, if ever again. The horse owners are anxious for the new year to roll around so the coming two-year-olds can get into action. There are more than enough juveniles here to fill the various races for them, and the stakes for the two-year-olds have some youngsters of promising calibre entered. In these races the Kentuckians will have their inning, as most of these horsemen are well fortified in the two-year-old division. " " . That no fast time has been recorded here is due to a new top layer of soil which lias been spread on the course. This has a tendency to make the track soft, hut the footing underneath is firm. Baii-legged horses can run over this course well and their races are deceptive, as the going favors them. The course is also excellent for yearlings and they are being given their share of work over it. The work of starter James Milton at the barrier is one of the features of the meeting. He has dispatched the fields in fine style and the few bad starts he has had were due to the poor class of horses which were in the fields. He has not had to discipline any of the riders and they are not trying to take advantage of him. . The stewards are on the alert for rough riding iockevs and have had little trouble in this respect. They" read the riot act to jockey W. Ward and this had a good effect upon the other riders.
