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CLOSE CALLS AT LAUREL SEVERAL OF THE RACES DECIDED BY THE NARROWEST OF MARGINS. Marso Henry Mariagos to Take a Race at Last Benevolent Scorcs His Third Success of the Meeting Track Gossip. Laurel, Md., October 23. The program at Laurel this afternoon was made up of a series of overnight races, the features of which were a high-weight handicap at three-quarters, and an allowance race at one mile. Secretary McLennan furnished a card of well matched fields and the sport was marked by some particularly close finishes. In the opener Sargon II came from behind and just managed to get up in the closing strides to beat Al Hudson by a nose. The finish of the steeplechase was so close as to leave the winner in doubt until the official placing was displayed. Itacebrook just managed to beat Meshach out by the narrowest of margins. Marse Henry showed a return to his good form in the highweight handicap, in which he made all the pace and got home a short head in advance of Kewessa. The latter was a nose before Startling. These three raced prominently from the start. Gnat, which finished fourth, closed a big gap from a slow start and was going fastest of all at the end. Another close finish attended the running of the fifth race, in which Benevolent was on the inside in a pocket to the stretch turn and twice when jockey Hall attempted to go through he was cut off. When lie found an opening at the head of the stretch he quickly raced itno the lead, but at the end had to be hard ridden to withstand the challenge of Flittergold. The latter left the barrier all tangled up and dropped out of contention in the early running. At the finish he was closing up fast and would have beaten the winner in a few more strides. Todays victory was the third straight that Benevolent has scored at the meeting. Several of the prominent trainers left here on Saturday last for Belmont Park to look over their yearlings and try some of them out. There was quite a gathering of well-known members of the Jockey Club and other gentlemen, who maintain big racing establishments at that beautiful course, to watcli the trials. Among those present were August Belmont, Andrew Miller, Schuyler L. Parsons. William K. Vanderbilt, II. K. Knapp, AV. B. Miller, Congressman G. AA Loft and S. D. Riddle, who races under the nome de course of the Glen Riddle Farms. Trainers S. C. Hiidreth, William II. Kar-rick, T. J. Henley, William R. Midgely, Max Hirsch, Jerry Carroll and Louis Feustel were busy showing the young horses under their charge. Kar-rick lias no less than thirty-six youngsters in his care and seventeen of them were tried out yesterday. The horses at Belmont Park are all in fine fettle. There is not a sick horse on the grounds. Charlie Patterson has taken up the horses of Messrs. Billing and Johnson and has started to get them ready for a winter campaign. It lias not been decided definitely where they will lie sent, but the chances are that they will go to New Orleans or Havana. Frank Garrett has taken over the horses of I. M. Hedrick and will train them in the future. Edward G. Soule contemplates gathering a formidable stable to race at Tijuana next winter. He made his first purchase this afternoon, when he secured the useful plater Pullux. He tried to purchase the sprinter Squeeler last week, but trainer Shannon had received a telegram the same morning that the horse had been sold to Captain AV. J. Press. Joseph Marrone has obtained first call on the services of the promising apprentice B. Kleeger until next spring. He will accompany the stable to whatever winter track his employer may elect to go. Edwin Rhomboid, a young Baltimorean, who has decided to go into racing on rather a pretentious scale, has commissioned Sandy McNaughton to secure for him what seems like promising material. Mr. Rhomboid has already purchased the filly Lobelia. C. K. Moore has purchased for August Belmont at private sale the plater Tea Caddy. B. Matheney, whose horses Jem, Landslide and Gloomy Gus, are looked after by M. C. Winfrey, has six promising yearlings at Gravesend, where they will be quartered for the winter. Mr. Matheney is a young business man of the upper west side in New York. Judge Ed Cole returned from Windsor, where he acted as presiding judge at the Kenilworth meeting, and resumed his duties in the judges stand here.
