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HOT SPRINGS IS CROWDED — i CITY OVERFLOWING WITH VISITORS ANXIOUSLY AWAITING OPENING AT OAKLAWN. Over Six Hundred Hordes Already on the Grounds — Lon«r-Distance Racing to Be Featured — Old Rosebud Appears in Grand Condition. P.y J. L. Dempsey. Hot Springs. Ark.. March 3. — Witt nun- than Mi 1 rs mi tin grounds and with tte city filled to overflewiag with visitors, Oaklawn Park race track fare* . ■ speabag aexl Wedaeaday that gives promise-of rarpasaiaE the best previous opening day in the history f tin" coarse, as far as attendance is eea-ecrn-d. With only a few exceptions the racing colony, which held forth at New Orleans all whiter, moved over here nt tile close of the Fair Orounds meeting, and the better class of horses were bought aim". Whca the Crcseeat City delegation ami horses arrived they found many horses here from Juarez, others from Tijuana and still other-. from Cuba. Visitors to the city, who as a rule take only a casual interest in racing, are all agog ov r the coming mooting, as are the local people. These people have read of the prowess of Loot-hares, lif .lr.. Chahacrs and otlier good horses with nationwide reputations, and they are anxious to see ihcni in action. With a fast track vouchsafed for any length of tim--. they will not he disappointed, and thej are more tiian likely to see some really fast tfaae made, as the Oaklawn Park track is at its host and the recent rains have only served to make it Letter. This racing season will find Judge Francis Nel son of Toronto. Out., presiding in the judges stand, and with .1. It. Cainphell as his assistant, it is a ci rtainty that this end of the sport will he mi -usually well taken care of. In addition to serving as associate judge Mr, Cainphell will also he racing secretary, and in this office he has no superior. W. 11. Norvell will he the clerk of the scales as ktst year and A. B. Dade again will handle the harrier. J. .1. M like sse-y is the paddock and patrol judge ami W. Martin the timer. On the whole, a more capable corys or officials could not l»o found. Ions Distance Racing to Be Farrored. As was the case at New Orleans, long distance rating will be a feature of the Oaklawn Park meeting, and in his first program lmok Secretary Camp-hell has provided numerous opportunities for becaea Which Stay Weil to win purses. Last year plenty of such racing was given here and it always proved popular, as it brought out the hardest fought finishes. A new ruh- at Oaklawa Park this year is the el. liming rule whereby all starters in a selling race. including the winner, ire subject to claim. Promiscuous claiming of horses will he curtailed by the clause in the rule, which provides that a claimant must have a horse in the race. This is the siune way the rule was worked at tiie Fair Wounds, and it gav satisfaction, and. in fact. Mas the only selling race rule that did meet with the approval of a majority of the horsemen. There will he no dearth of good jockeys here. bath in quantity and quality. Rider- from all part* of the country have been arriving for a week past, and many have left the other winter race tracks to come hen- and ride. With the exception of jockey Prank Hobinson. who has gone to Charleston. S. .. the leaders in the riding ranks at thC recent New Orleans meeting will accept mounts here. This will include jockeys Crump. T. McT.iggart. l.ykes. Willlazas, .Murphy. I.ux ton and others. Jockey T. McTaggart lias been resting at his home in New York since the li lr Orounds closed, ami his brief vacation no doubt will do him a lot of good. He was server l.i litter form hi his life th:. 11 at the present time, as his iddl.- work at the Fair C rounds showed. Starter A. 1!. Hade is another who has been enjoying a brief rest after his forty- four days work at New urban . He has been taking a vacation at his home at Henderson. Ky.. but is now on the scene ready lor action here. While en route from Now Orleans to Henderson Dade stopped off a day in Memphis, Tonn.. for a visit with Capt. James 11. Bees. No Two-Year-Old Races — Old Rosebud Good. Although there will he no two-year-old races at Oaklawn Talk, according to the present plans, the horsemen who wanted them put on seem to be satisfied now. and they are offering no further complaints. If a tnan has any other horses besides two-year olds, he should have ao difficulty in finding a race to run in. as the initial program book calls for runs with conditions of every description, giving good horses and bad horsed plenty of chancer to race. In view of the large number of horses on the grounds Secretary Campbell naturally expects to have to exclude many horses from races, and he will keep a "•throw-out li-t." so that horses excluded will be first in line on the eligible list when tiny are ■gala entered. A close watch will lie kept on owners entering two or three iia- hi succession in order to always keep on the eligible list, and they will find tbtnaselvea i milling their horses pretty often, as the] .sill not be allowed to scratch out at their own pleaearo when ihey find a •tough spot. Feature races each day will be BSUBted after local firms, hotels, bath house-, sad other institutions. This was done had year ami several of the linns presented baadeeeae loving cape to tin- winners of races which were run in their honor. Turfmen from Kentucky wen- dumfoiindcel when they looked upon Old Rosebud. 1914 Kentucky Derhj winner, in at n the race- track for a stiff workout, and he made- them sit up ami take notice by the way he ran. Thus far. in all his works lure. the son of I nch Ivory B -IK has pulled up in Craad condition, and trailer I rank Weir is confident th.it he will be a hard horse to beat around theae parts if he stands farther sharp training. The horse has filled out woaderfall and looks like i picture ami still has plenty of gooc1 old speed. Anoth-r of his traits which lu- has retained through his three years absence from the race track is his ability to take a long jump when he starts. as in is one- of the fastest beginning horses oil the turf May. Plenty of "Layers" for the Meeting. Ir.e !h alh all of tie- best known men roaaected wnii rac tag, o I"- specelatlve end of the sport, will be on hand far the Oaklawn Park meeting. Soin. of them who held forth iu the ialni Garden at the Fair Orounds went to New York at the conclusion of tie-Criscint I it meeting and many others remained in New Orteaaa foe ■ week eir tern days, but now they are all here and ready for action. Tom Shaw, who did not participate in the local meeting last year is here and eager for the bay, as is "Whitoy" Heck anil many other prominent operators. Last real this f.-ature if the racing moved with clocklike precision ami there were no complaints off. red. This .u-ar the same state of affairs will prevail ami if there is any room for improvement, there will be improvement. Old Hiidweiser. which last year as a sixteen year oh! startled the turf world by •coming to life and winning at Oaklawn Park at such an age. will not Im back to the scene of his triumphs this year lie is now in the stable of George Phillips, and the latter ilul not ship his horses here. It was his running at Oaklawn Park that made Huehcis r a much seaghl after horse later iu the spring and summer, despite his advanced age. The I.usiness Mens League of Hot Springs, which conducts the- racing at the local track is composed of the loading lights in business and social circles of this city, bad on its roster are bankers, merchants of all descriptions and many members of the medical profession with national reputations. This hustling organization has done much in advancing Hot Springs to the fore in re-cent years, and it is not finished yet by any means. Its nit ni bet! realize the Mist amount of b.in fit derived from the visits of the racing fraternity each year, and in I no city where racing is conducted is a more cordial welcome ti.teu.ded the turf colony than. here.
