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POLICY OF CUBA-AMERICAN JOCKEY CLUB. Part of Earnings to Be Devoted to Increased Purses and Improvements to Oriental Park, By J. R. Jeffery. Washington. D. C. April 7.- Manager II. D. Brown, who made a brief visit to Rowie a day or two ago in connection with the annual meeting of the Cuba American Jockey Club, which is incorporated under the laws of Maryland, announced that it is the policy of the Birettota of the rink to declare only small dividends and to derate the remainder of the earnings to increased purses and the farther heauti-fication of Oriental Park, which already is described as the most beanttfal of all American race courses. .Mr. Brown ht it be known that he had received several proposals for the purchase of Oriental Park, but that none of the v.ould-be buyers agreed with his ideas of the value of the plant and that it was .piite unlikely that the track would change hands, as has been intimated might happen from time to Bane. He is now proceeding to sixnid money freely 011 the pleat on the theory that it will remain under his control indefinitely. In about a week he will return to Havana to supervise the carrying out of the plans he has formulated for the further improvement and beautification of the plant. While here he spoke freely of his plans for next seasons racing at Oriental Turk. The season will embrace ninety days, an increase of five days over that just terminated. The meeting will open December 8, and there xvill be four days of racing each Week until December 23. when racing xvill proceed every day for two weeks xvithout interruption, after which there will be racing six days each week to the end of the season, with Monday figuring as the idle day. The daily distribution will consist of three 00 purses and four of S400. with three or more added money stakes each month. Roth book-making and the mutuels will be employed for purposes of speculation, as during the past two seasons, it having been demonstrated that both systems of speculation have their following in Havana. The roster of the officials will Ih practically identical with that of the past season. Mr. Rrown, being well satisfied with the manner in which the various departments of his enterprise xvere conducted. In commenting on the prosiHcts of competition from Crant Hugh BWWBe and his associates for a share of the Havana racing field, Mr. Rrown declared that not a move had boon made to construct the track over which it had lieen proposed to race this spring and that it was unlikely the project would materialize. He feels that the success of the recent meeting has brought the Cuba-American Jockey Club "out of the woods," so to speak, and he is now willing to proceed with the offering of greater inducements to the owners of the better grade of horses to participate in the meetings at Oriental Park, xvith the promise that the more successful the venture becomes, the more the horsemen will share in its success. Senator Ollic James Frequent Visitor. United States Senator Ollie James, of Kentucky, who is in every sense one of the big men of the upper house of congress, takes keen delight in seeing the horses race at Bowie whenever he can spare the time from bis official duties. There is no more devoted admirer of tbe thoroughbred in America than this noted, red-blooded Kentuckian. who has BOM playing such an important part in national alTairs under the present administration, and he enjoys unbounded popularity among the horsemen, not only of his own state, but from all sections of the country. Few men in public life have ever succeeded in obtaining a greater hold upon the .illeotioiis of sportsmen than this genial and unassuming, but virile, Kentucky statesman, and racing folks generaBy would go far out of their way to help elevate him to an even higher position than he now fills should the opportunity ever present itself. Indge Joseph A. Murphy xvill be at liberty after the Rowie meeting. For the first time in many-years he has no summer engagements. He will devote his attention to matters connected xvith racing and it is possible that he may have an interesting announcement to make ere long. On his way to his home at St. Louis upon the close of the Rowie meeting, he xvill visit Detroit, where there has been some talk of a revival of racing under the auspices of a business mens organization with Judge Murphy n charge. Nothing definite has been decided as to the advisability of attempting to stage this meeting. Jockey Roscoe Troxler. much improved in health following an operation on his nose to xvhieh he submitted at San Diego, Cal., several weeks ago. is at Rowie ready to ride for his contract employer. P. A. Clark, a wealthy New York broker, xvho is extending his interest in racing. Troxler, who rode with much success at Tijuana the past winter, xvill be able to accept mounts here at about 108 pounds. Regarding Maisonneuve Park Affairs. William M. Murray has been spending several days at Rowie in the interest of the Maisonneuve Park track at Montreal, which he now controls. The "Montreal season will lie opened at this track May li. xvith the usual seven-day meeting, over which Martin Xathanson will preside. This meeting xvill conflict on its opening day with the closing of the Devonshire Park meeting at Windsor, xvith which Mr. Nathanson is likewise to be connected as racing secretary. All of the Montreal tracks that have lieen using the bookmakers in previous seasons will install the mutuels this season, as one result of the new taxation arrangements of the Quebec government, xvhieh make bookmaking so expensive as to practically prohibit it. Mr. Murray plans to deduct a commission of eight per cent from the pari-mtitttels pools at Maisonneuve and a similar amount, probably, will be deducted at Delorimier Park, while the mile tracks will deduct the customary five per cent. The purses at Maisonneuve will consist of four of 50 and three of 00 daily. J. W. Langdon, xvho has been interested in racing in various capacities for many years, is among the regulars who are on hand for the Bowie meeting. Ho has not been actively identified with the sport since he relinquished the management of the stable of Dr. J. W. Messerny of Charleston. S. C, a season or so ago and he has no immediate intention of playing a more active part than an attempt to pick an occasional winner. He is a keen judge of the thoroughbred. The Bowie management has adopted the picturesque practice of having a mounted rider in bunting costume escort the horses to the starting post for each race. This is a practice borrowed from the amateur meetings. Former Jockey Murray is filling the role of rider.
