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EASTERN HORSES QUITE BACKWARD. New York, March 30. Horses that have- wintered at the- Long Island tracks ami tlie.se ,,f James Butler, at the- Y-nke-rs course of the- Empire- City Racing Association, have scant chance !• enl anj figure- during the- Maryland circuit, which is to i. opened at tie- Bowie trae-k id the Southern Marj land Association April 1. The unseasonably cold weather has made- it Impossible to do anything worth while- in the- waj if training the- thoroughbreds ami even those- which have- an opportunity t- gallop under -heels cannot possibly have exercise e nough to bring them to racing ti. Last season at this time- it was po-sible to senel the horses along smartly at bath Behnonl Park and Grave si,,,! and tin- bones wire tnuih further advanced than this year Even with t lit- more favorable weather of 1015 BOBM of the eastern heeise were- badly knock, -el out as a result e.f having been hurried t.. be- ready for tin- Kentucky Derby, tun May 8. This was especially true- e.f .lames Butters Pebbles, which, the. ugh he- was ate sad to Regret in that big race, was of little account for the rest of the j,,,,-. The date of the Kentucky Derby has not yet . [ been made known for the good and sufficient reason that the Kentucky commission has not yet made public the racing dates. But whatever the date, there is small chance indeed for any horse making I tally in the climate that has made only nieage-r training operations possible. Some of the eastern sportsmen who will try for the rich prize, realizing the- handicap in this cold clime-, have been fitting their horses either in Kentucky or at one e.r other e.f the available se.uthorn training grounds, and they will enjoy a big advantage over those to be shipped from New York. Trainer John McForniick. who is making the James Batler horses ready for the- racing Banana, will not fall into the mistake made by trainer Beaaoa last year when Pebbles was unduly hurried, and it is entirely possible that Spur, the candidate from that stable, will not even be shipped west. Most of the Batter racing string is now quartered at the Yonkers track, and each one is the ptetare of robust health. The exercise has been taken on a covered track that has nine laps to the mile and it is possible to gallop smartly there, but it would not be possible to tighten a horse up for a race like the Derby. If the weather would moderate to such an extent that it would be possible to bring the horses out of doors, this inside galloping will bring them to a condition when moderately fast work can begin at once, but the outside won is an absolute- aoeessity. The seven Harry Payne Whitney eligibles that trainer James Rowe has named for the Kentucky Derby are still at Brookdale, but Rowe is better equipped in the matter of a covered track than any of the other trainers. His sheltered training track at Brookdale is five laps to the mile and he is such a wizard with a horse that he doubtless lias his horses well advanced, but it is doubtful if even Rowe will be able to have his string reaelv in the severe weather that has prevailed. John Baaford already has George Smith and St. Isidore, his Derby candidates, making ready " on a southern training ground anil then will be no weather excuse for their imt being ready. Frank Nolan, of the Beverwyck Stable, alse. has his can-elidate. Lena Misha. winner of the Belmont Park Juvenile, the first time he started, in suitable training latitude-. The son of King James and Gatien Belle is in Lexington and the reports of his training have been eminently satisfactory. It will be remembered that Lena Misha went wrong shortly after his high-dam performance in the Juvenile and he was never able- to come back to that running. He had roumled te at the end e.f the season and Mr. Nolan neiw confidently ex-pei ts him te come back a good colt. He is an ineliviiiual of impressive eoaformatiou and his race in the- Juvenile, when he literally ran away from his opponents, proelaimeel him a goad one-. Altogether tin- eaaternera an- particularly well represented in the Kentucky Derby of this rear, but it is doubtful if ever before they were- so seriously handicapped in the way of inclVmeiit training weather.
