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GREATEST OF ALL SARATOGA RACING SEASONS BUT A FEW DAYS DISTANT Saratoga Springs N Y July 27 President KIcliard T Wilson and his associates in the manage ¬ ment of the Saratoga Association for the Improve ¬ ment of the Breed of Horses confidently expect that the meeting which will be inaugurated on Thursday next will not only surpass in brilliancy the gathering of 1917 which was notable but any carnival of racing tests held in this country since 1908 Already more than 1000 thoroughbreds from all parts of the United States and Canada are housed on the grounds of the association and with the close of the Empire City course fully 500 additional horses will be shipped here so that every available stable on and off the course will be occu ¬ pied when the bugle sounds the call for the first races racesThere There has always been something fascinating about the sport at Saratoga Nature intended it as a proving ground for the best horseflesh this con ¬ tinent could produce and year after year the pride of this country and Canada have foregathered under the pines drunk of the salubrious waters and fought for the mastery under conditions which could not be matched elsewhere East met west and called for no quarter and in the days when the tests were mainly betvecn horses of socalled purely American lineage supremacy meant much and feeling ran high There are many alive today who can recall the days of Col McDaniel of Major Thomas of Lucky Baldwin and others of that ilk and if these broad hatted and frock coated types of a former racing i criod could return to earth today they would scarcely recognize the course they knew and loved so well MANY IMPROVEMENTS MADE MADEEver Ever since the formation of the Saratoga Asso ¬ ciation by W C Whitney and the group of lovers of the thoroughbred associated with him no expense has been spared in the effort to provide ideal con ¬ ditions for racing tests and for the comfortable housing and material comfort of those who delight in them Each year has seen some improvement in ¬ augurated but visitors on Thursday will be given a surprise indeed so many and material have been the changes wrought since last season More than 100000 has been spent but every cent of it shows First and foremost in the improvements made by Superintendent Mycr who has been constantly on the job since the work was begun last autumn is the now course which should be one of the fastest in the world It will be remembered that the foot ¬ ing in wet weather was most treacherous due to the clay foundation of the track proper Mr Myer had the unsatisfactory material removed and replaced vcijh loam after which ditches insuring perfect drainage were dug about the entire oval ovalA A retaining board keeps the soil from washing and with this change the track should dry out as rapidly as any in the country The steeplechase course has been improved also and the jumps re ¬ planted with living brushes A space in the inner Held from which considerable material was taken for road construction will become a lake as soon as arrangements can be perfected for water of which there is an abundant supply supplySplendid Splendid roads have been laid everywhere and the landscape gardeners art has been employed to make the grounds most attractive thousands of rose bushes and flowering plants having i een planted since spring The clubhouse has been en ¬ tirely refurnished and its furnishings and decora ¬ tions represent the taste of Mrs Wilson wife of the president who has been here for some time having taken Uillcrest Cottage on North Broadway for the season Mrs Wilson has also superintended the improvements at the Saratoga Heading Koom which visitors have found such a delightful ren ¬ dezvous in former seasons Club members and their guests will be served from a new buffet and Frank Stevens who was here in company with Kacing Secretary A McL Earlocker a few days ago was delighted with the change in the catering de ¬ partment partmentIf If the changes at the track proper bring surprise those inaugurated at Horse Haven across the way will make oldtimers sit up in wonderment There is a new iron fence instead of the dingy wooden barrier the entire length of the property The dead branches have been removed from the towering pines giving the sun a chance to shine where hitherto dampness prevailed while roads of gravel and cinders have mainly replaced the deep sand Stables have been repaired painted or white ¬ washed and everything connected witli the training quarters made shipshape shipshapeThere There have been some extensive strings in train ¬ ing here since the close at Aqueduct the Macomber and Whitney stables shipping directly here instead of taking in the meeting at Empire City W B Jennings has forty head for Mr Macomber who is still in California but is confidently expected to attend the meeting The Whitney stable has thirty four occupants under the care of James Howe ami Albert Simons Other noteworthy collections of thoroughbreds are those of Commander J K L Boss which totals thirty Edward B McLean twenty four Joseph E Seagram twentyfive Col E K Bradley twentytwo and F Ambrose Clark twentyone Mr Seagram is the president of the Canadian Kacing Association and he has long been an ardent lover of the horse of blood For more than thirty years his colors were seentinnually aA Saratoga but for the past few years ill health has kept him at home homeG G M HENDRIE TO RACE AT THE SPA SPAAnother Another Canadian whose colors will be seen at the Spa for the first time in some years is George M Ilendric of Hamilton a son of that good sports ¬ man William Hondrie whose Martimas scored so decisively in the Futurity of 189S Mr Ilendric owns a good horse in Kancher which is entered in the Saratoga Handicap and as Commander Ross will be represented in the same race by Cudgel the chances of the honor going to the Dominion beyond the great lakes are considered good by the advance guard of the talent already on the grounds groundsThe The Saratoga Handicap which will be the feature of the opening day surpasses in importance the Flash Stakes for twoyearolds and the Shillelah Steeplechase in point of public interest because of the material engaged should b j one of the best tests of the year While Cudgel is accorded the crushing impost of 133 pounds he will have a host of followers Omar Khayyam it is regretfully learned has met with a mishap that may prevent him from fullilling his engagements here Itoamcr at 129 and George Smith at 123 have friends in abund ¬ ance as have also War Cloud Wcsty Hogan Poly melian Kancher and a half dozen others that might be named If Polymelian goes to the post the public will have a chance to determine whether he can stay a mile and a quarter or is simply a brilliant sprinter Koamer has the unique distinction of having won the event in 1915 and 1917 and it would be a brilliant windup to the career of the remarka ¬ ble gelding if he should get home again this year yearThe The program for the opening day is only a fore ¬ taste of what is offered for the delectation of visit ¬ ors on other occasions with the climax on the clos ¬ ing day August 31 with its 30000 Hopeful Stakes for twoyearolds the Saratoga Cup at one mile and threequarters a readiest of speed and bottom for threeyearolds tind over and the Saratoga Steeplechase at two miles and a half to send peo ¬ ple away with a vivid memory of glorious sport an ideal vacation and a longing for August 1919
