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SIXTY DAYS RACING AT NEW ORLEANS. Twenty-Four Days at Jefferson Parish Fair, Followed By Thirty-Six at Fair Grounds. New Orleans La., July 25. With the rapid progress being made on Jefferson parishs new Fair Grounds and race track, attention of local horse lovers is turned on the prospects of two racing meetings here next winter. Unless plans go amiss, the Jefferson Fair Association, Incorporated, wil conduct a short racing meeting to finance its annual live stock and agricultural fair. Whereas race meetings are conducted on a small scale by nearly all of the fairs held at Shreveport, Alexandria, Jackson, Miss., and in many other places, the meeting planned by the Jefferson parish promoters is to be of the highest class, on account of linking dates witli the Fair Grounds meeting of the Business Mens Racing Association. Though the betting system in use at the Fair Grounds the past three seasons "lias been declared illegal, it is well known the Business Mens Racing Association will schedule its annual meeting nevertheless, the oral betting system to be established. Racing on the New York tracks, while not as successful as under the old-time betting system or the pari-mutuels, lias been run smoothly enough under the system of oral betting. Oral betting is not in violation of the law, according to the experts. Oral betting, therefore, shall probably be employed at the Jefferson parisli meeting and at the Fair Grounds season to follow. As it now stands, New Orleans racegoers are expecting a season of sixty days this winter. The plans are to start the sport at the Jefferson Parisli Fair the last week of November and tun until January 1 or alwut twenty-four days. There will be no racing Sundays. longer Meeting Will Attract Big Stables. The Lenten season coming so early in 1918, the Business Mens Racing Associatious season, which is held within January 1 and Mardi Gras Day, will be limited to thirty-six days. Horsemen say this is too short a season to persuade many of the large owners to ship big strings south. But the meeting scheduled in Jefferson parisli lengthens the racing season to iuriod which Jefferson parish promoters believe will be just the proper length for winter racing here. Under the personal supervision of Anthony Rou-prich, who is in charge of the construction of the Jefferson Fair Associations new plant near Shrcws-A bury, the preliminary work is well under way. A Land has been cleared, ditches dug, the track laid out it will beBa mile eoursc and everything is in readiness to tart work on the grandstand, fair buildings and other structures. Meantime, offiters of the Jefferson Fair Association are devoting their energies to laying the plans for the biggest live stock and agricultural fair ever held in the parishV Incidentally, this fair, like the race meeting, will, link with the monster farming show of the Business Mens Racing Association. Mr. Rouprich expects to have the Shrewsbury plant nearly completed by the middle of October. By that time the ifnll racing and fair plans will be formulated and lie new track will be ready to receive the exhibits and thoroughbreds, which will make up the mectlifs. Mr. Rouprich recently returned from a tour of the Canadian tracks and jirought back assurances of cooperation from many prominent horsemen and breeders. . .
