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MAY SPLIT HANDICAP RACES. | Pimlico Management Probably WTill Adopt System in Order to Bring Out Best Horsos. By Ed Cede. New York. May 1. — Pimlico promises to bo an exceptionally good meeting. Borneo are in abundance and. judging from the Havre de Grace patronage. Pimlico should have a lecord meeting. "I dont kuow what we shall do with nil the entries in rac-e-s," said Frank .1. Bryan, in speaking of the outlook. "Ii!nliiS was rarely short of raring mate-rial, but this year we are overburde-ned. It looks as if we shall follow our custom of splitting handicaps so is to get the best horses out. WO have-found the- splitting system advantageous. Contrary to the proponed method of splitting handicaps in half, according to their weights, we always had them drawn by noraemen through a card a* stem and it proved satisfactory. I am a great believer in splitting handicaps, when the fields promise- to ha unwieldy. They make two good races, one of which takes the place- of the- Cheng platers occasionally. The better the horse the more opportunities it should have. "Another rule we have at Pimlico is posting the overnight handicaps at eight oclock in the morning so that neceptancea can ! handed in by 10 erieck, I.y this early display, horsemen know just what to do witU their entries in the- line of work as they can decide in good season whether they will start or not." Owing to the excessive number of horses in training this year, the fields promise to be exceptionally large at ail tracks, especially in the cheaper divisions and three year- -Id rae-es. There is a feeling among patrons of racing that twelve horses is ampin in any one race, not only for safety of hone and riders, but for c-onsisteiiey nml as a spectacle. Large and cumbersome fields do not make the- most Interesting contents and fro-quentiy the be-st horses are beaten through unavoidable- interfere nc-c-s. which woaaW not ocenrwhen the fields are limited to a safe number. Of course, rich stakes, such as the Futurity, have to stand according to contract, no matter how many arc- sent to the post. Sni-h events are practically scrambles and the- difficulties occur in such races that cannot lie overcome, not even by the best horse. Good Argument Agairst Excessive Fields. Tle-re is also another argument against excessive fie Ids. That is the unnatural iic-onsistene-y that can bo brought about by connivance- anil dishonorable Jockeys. A jockey can pull up at the start or during the early running of a race and declare he was cut off or Interfered with and unle-ss a patrol judge a ippens o have his eye on that one- rieler at the moment, it is impossible for him to tell whether the all ged Interference otcwrtd or whether tin-act was premeditated. In other words, large iic-lds open up avenues for fraud much wider than with smell fie-lds. If the hcr.es continue to multiply as they have done- in th" past two years, the subject of confining fields to a certain and -o.sc;-a ttve number, outside- of slakes, is one that can be diacnoned to advantage for bm future benefit of the- turf. A. .1. Davis has an imported Jumper which he bought anoeen. When he did see him he found him in an umli-rfecl and weakened condition. He- may not race until next year. The horse- is the three-year-old Fuglelael, by Fugleman — Lavuse, tile sire-by lersimmou. "He is a big-boned horse." said Mr. Davis, "and he may make a rare good bone when he gets s.,m . moat on him. At present he looks more like a xylophone, but I have him on the farm, eating good oats and hay. It was e|isappoin»ing. however, to anticipate a rare, good jumper in good Condition and then find the most sickly looking animal one ever saw. Thats the fruits of buying a pig in a bag. as it were. lie may have teen all right when shipped, but lie lacked proper rare coming over the AtlaMic."
