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■ , ! . . , , . " t r - - f - - f 1 • f ■ - s e e e t CURRENT NOTES OF THE TURF. S A. B. Spreckcls has offered the pick of the two-year-olds on his Xapa county ranch to his wife 1 for her charity sale shortly to he held in San Francisco for the benefit of the French and Belgium war sufferers. I It is stated from San Diego that James J. Cof-; forth has lieen elected president of the Iiower California Jockev Club. A. B. Spreckels vice-president I and II. A. Houser second vice-president. The date . for opening its meeting at Tia Juana was changed to January 1. 1916. Francis Ieonard Wootton. of Epsom, the well-,. known jockev. was lined . at Croydon on Satur dav for motoring at the rate of thirty-eight miles an hour on Octolier 14. For the defense it was ! stated that Wootton had lately lieen employed as a military chauffeur on the East Coast, and had thus contracted a habit of speed. He must have realized that the "habit of speed." so useful lor ■ winning on the race course, had its disadvantages i when applied elsewhere. From Tulsa. Okla.. comes the statement that ; Governor Williams will recommend in his message to the sjiei-ial session of the Legislature, in the . event it is called, that the pari-mutuel system of betting on horse races be legalized in Oklahoma. The sliortage of good horses in the state, ow ing to the great draiu the war in Kurope has lieen ii| ton Oklahoma, as well as other agricultural states, ! is the motive that will influence the states ex-t ecutive to urge a revival of the sport that will I start the breeding -if blooded horses on a larger scale, it is claimed. There is a regrettable anxiety on the part of some iMopIe to practically suppress racing during the war. this regardless of the fact that the liveliho.id of a [ large number of people directly and indirectly asso- ciated with the sport would lie adversely affected. * The opponents of racing should remember thai those to lie considered embrace many thousands besides J those who o to a course either as s|H-culators or spectators. In Australia racing is really a big : business, more than a simrt. and through it many industries benefit.— Sydney Referee.