view raw text
ORIENTAL PARK PRACTICALLY COMPLETED. Only Finishing Touches Remain to Be Done at H. D. Browns New Track in Cuba. Havana, Cuba, December 2S. Oriental Park, where a winter season of racing will begin January 7 and continue until March 15, is not far from ready for its inaugural meeting. The huge steel grandstand, 400 feet in length, which will comfortably accommodate 10,000 persons, is completed. The work on the re-inforced concrete clubhouse, which will cost when completed 40.000, is well under way, and the organization .of the club of Havana society folk, who will throng the enclosure on the big days, lias been completed. Next to. the big grandstand, the bulk of which makes it a noteworthy snot to observers for miles around, is the "gloriente," or what would correspond to the "bleachers" on an American course. The "gloriente" Itself is as large, if not larger, than the average stand on the big courses in the United States and Canada. Here will gather the Cuban working classes, and the paii-mutuel machines, twenty in number, will be installed for their use. as this form of wagering has long been familiar to them through its use on the recently suspended national same of jai-alal. The huge stand, betting ring, "gloriente" and .timlnlstration building are thirty feet above the level of the. course. The descent to the level of the course is by three terraced esplanades, and this lawn space has been prouounced by American observers as the most commodious of its kind ever seen. Wide boulevard-like approaches, bordered with tropical plants, sweep from the beach and Marianao roads to the entrance of the course, and there is a special narking space for automobiles. The stables, which will shelter S00 horses, and for which no rent is to lie charged to the horsemen, are in a long row opposite the stand. The Principe railroad, which connects with the car ferries at a Machlna wharf, has its unloading platform fifteen feet from the stable lanes, and cousequently there is no leading for the horses when they are detrained. Aside from the physical aspect of Oriental Park itsplf, which has served as a magnet to attraet visitors from Havana by the hundreds during the past two weeks, the social side of racing in Havana is being emphasized in a noteworthy way. Organization of the club membership roster has been completed, and the roll Is tilled. When it is considered that -the membership fee for the first year is 50. and that there was general desire on the part of Cubas aristocrats to enroll, the idea of Manager Brown to provide a caliber of sport which should appeal to this class has been vindicated. Following is a roster of the officials of the club Itself: Honorary President, General Maria G. Meuo-cal, President of the Republic of Cuba; President, Dr. Adolfo Xuno. of the Havana bar; Vice President, Frank Steinhardt. traction magnate; Treasurer, II. D. Brown; Secretary, Dr. Mario Diaz Trizar, attorney and secretay of the Hippodrome: Directors, Dr. Ricardo Dolz, President Menocals confidential adviser and leader of the majority wing of the Cuban Senate; Senor Jose R. Villalon. Secretary and Minister of Public Works in the Presidents Cabinet; General Emilio Xunez, Secretary of Agriculture, Commerce and Lalior of the Cuban Cabinet; Dr. George Albarrain and Dr. Miguel Nuno. It will be seen from the personnel of this list, that the government not only sanctions the racing enterprise, but through Its leading officials is giving the Cuba-American Jockey Club personal encouragement aud support.
