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, , ! ■ [ ■ I ! ; ; . f 1 • ; STIRRED DP IN MARYLAND THE ASSIGNMENT OF SPRING RACING DATES MOVES TRACK OFFICIALS TO ACTIVITY. Bowie Program Book to Be Out in a Few Days — Over Five Hundred Horses Now in Sight for the Meeting. Baltimore, Md.. February 20. — Now that the Jockey Club has allotted the dates for Maryland spring racing, matters may be expected to come to the front with a rush in this section. Whatever action the legislature may finally take will not interfere with the spring meetings and all preparations are being made to hold these as usual. The opening at Bowie is only about six weeks away and the management is already getting busy. The list of officials, which will be the same as last fall, including Joseph A. Murphy as presiding judge. A. B. Dade as starter, and Joseph McLcun.iu as racing secretary, has been sent on for the approval of the Jockey Club. The Itook for the first seven days of the meeting is now being [prepared at New Orleans by secretary McLennan and will be ready for distribution in a few days. Bowie will have plenty of good class runners for its meeting. Sixty or more horses have been at the track all winter and will 1m in condition to nee from the word go. James Arthur has wintered twelve bead al Bowie and they are all in line condition. Water Lady and Brandy wine are looking especially well and will be heard from early. Water Lady was a filly of much speed last year but had a little too niueh racing and went stale at the close of the year. The winters rest has brought her around and she is now full of life and vigor. Mr. Arthur has that good horse Robert Bradley in his stable and expects to bring him to the races better than ever he was. He was gelded last fall and the change has improved his disposition and will no doubt enable him to make the most of his high turn of speed. About 200 horses are at Benning and these will be pointed for racing at Bowie. Last week William Garth came up from Charlottesville with thirty-four head. As usual the "Sage of Albemarle will be strong in the jumping division. He has several green fencers of which he thinks well, besides the old standbys. The Garths two-year-olds are mostly by Celt and are a promising band. Mr. Garth bred most of his mares last year to Theo Cook, his own stallion. Quite a colony of horses has wintered in Baltimore at the Gentlemens Driving Park and Pimlico and theae are being fitted for the Bowie meeting. Nate Byer. Edward McBride. George P. Sherman. Dick Fending. Harry Rites and Nat Beal have had their horses at the driving park and they are in a forward condition. Edward McBride, who brought out the good two-year-old George Smith and Tom El-ward last year, will have a strong stable. His two-year-olds are fine lookers and one of them, a bay colt by Peep oDay, he thinks is a second George Smith. He may be so, but two George Smiths in a row is almost too much good luck. Joseph McLennan writes from New Orleans that, he will l ook 999 horses for Bowie, which have been racing at the Crescent City. Altogether it looks as if Bowie would start off with abundant Material ready to jump right in and race from the tap of the bell." The Havre de Grace people also are beginning t move. Edward Burke was in town last week. D has been decided to put in the mutuels at the II si ford County track, provided the action of. the legislature is not unfavorable. Just ar present the legislative situation looks a little mixed, although the best posted racing people are not serioiisp. alarmed. The fact is there is no real sentiment, against racing in Maryland. There is a feeling against overdoing the thing, but it will take a hard wrench to put the sport entirely out. where it has Been so long in honorable standing. It may be that the solution of the problem will conic in establishing a racing commission, with a liberal tax to go to the state. An impost of ,000 a day for the four mile tracks has been suggested as the proper thing and there is little doubt that the governor would sign a measure built along such lines. Iim- lico and Bowie would gladly accept a commission, but Havre de Grace and Laurel would like to be let alone. The Harford County track races under a couaty commission, which is self perpetuating and which, to say the least, is well disposed to wards Ihe Havre de Grace track. Laurel operates under a special charter which allows it to race the whale month of October. The bookmakers are inaugurating a campaign against the pari -mutuels and have flooded the le2i- attire with a pamphlet "knocking" the unilinN and praising their own game.
