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ANTICIPATIONS OF HAVANAS MEETING. Only Three Days of Racing Until Christmas, Then Sis Days Afterwards. Havana, Cuba. September 21. The arrival of two carloads of horses at Oriental Park last week brings to mind the fact that in a short time the racing season in Cuba will again begin. The people on the island are anxiously looking forward to a resumption of the sport at the beautiful course in Marianao. Racing in Cuba has already become a fixture and is fast taking a strong hold on the people here. They have learned tiiat the sport is conducted on a high-class plane and that no pleas-ar.ter afternoons outing can be spent than a visit to Oriental Park will afford. The management of the Cuba -American .Toekev Club has mapped out rather pretentious plans for the coming winter meeting. Every effort will be made to, attract some high-class horses and the owners of the better class of thoroughbreds will be catered to. Special days every week will be set aside as "society day," when extra attractions will be provided in the way of rich handicaps and band concerts of tin: wonderful Municipal Rand. And speaking of bands, the Municipal Rand is reallv one of file greatest organizations of its kind on this continent, as everyone who has listened to one of their concerts will concede. During the past few months Secretary Flynn has received applications for membership in the club from many prominent gentlemen on the island, and the clubhouse this winter promises to bo the scene of many brilliant gatherings. As to the racing the coming winter, there will be eighty-odd days of the sport. There will be a preliminary season of three weeks, starting December 7. when racing will bo held on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Beginning with Christinas day, the regular season will be started with racing six days each week. The smallest purse will be S400, and they will range in value up to ,000. There will be a ,000 handicap at least once a week and. if conditions warrant it. twice a week. Racing in Cuba is profitable for horsemen. Last winter there were 300 horses 011 the grounds and about 230 started luring the meeting. Of this number twenty-two won something. The money was pretty well divided and almost every horseman who raced at Oriental Park had a margin of profit to show for his winters campaign. The place was not overcrowded and the purses were liberal. Messrs. S. L. Parsons and H. K. Knapp were daily visitors to the course for about a month and they remarked that, considering the caliber of the material at hand, the sport was excellent and particularly clean. This statement speaks for itself as to the manner in which the meeting was conducted. Practically the same staff of officials will be in charge again this winter. James Milton, who has taken much of the burden of the management off Mr. Browns shoulders, will again act as assistant manager and in the event of Mr. Browns absence during the winter, he will have general supervision of the plant. Mr. Milton is well fitted for the position, as lie has had practical experience in many departments of the sport. There is a reason for the Cuba-American Jockey Club being so popular with the people here. Wonderful constructive work has been accomplished by the club about Marianao. The Jockey Club spent no less than 2,000 in building roads in Marianao leading to Oriental Park. These roads were constructed in a first-class manner and there are none better anywhere. Previous to the opening of the meeting hist winter the track was resoiled at an expense of 3,500. Soil that was admirably adapted for the purpose was discovered some five miles from the course and this was carted and spread on the track to the depth of a foot. The new system of drainage, which was installed, worked like a charm and the form book will show that during the entire winter the track was never heavy for a single day. There is little difference in the cost of feed in Cuba and Canada. Speaking on this subject to a fellow-horseman one night last winter James Arthur said that he kept close account of the expenses of his stable in Cuba and in the United States and Canada and that it cost about 0 a month to feed a horse in the States and 5 in Cuba. This extra a month for feed is more than counterbalanced by the earning capacity of a horse here. "Any sort of a horse can win a race in Cuba," said Arthur. "There is something to the climate that improves a thoroughbred and besides the competition is not as keen as it is iqi north during the summer." There must be something attractive almut a place when almost everyone who races at Oriental Park one winter is back here again the following season. The Cuba-American Jockey Club considers their best boosters to be the horsemen who have raced with them. !. Pivcce, who raced a string at Oriental Park last winter, contemplates shipping about fifty polo ponies here. Polo is being fostered by the government and a beautiful polo field has been laid out near amp Columbia. The country club has added a new wing to its clubhouse, containing about fifty rooms. This was done in order to accomodate the increased travel to Cuba during the winter months. The country club is about a mile from Oriental Park. Much work has also been done about the Plaza during the summer mouths. New bath houses have been constructed and the beach for a couple of miles has been placed in first-class condition. Many a horseman in Canada and about the Maryland tracks are wishing they were back at the Plaza. You simply cant beat the bathing down here. But there are many other tilings in Havana that are attractive to the racegoer and tourist.
