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WINTER MEETING AT HAVANA Plans Being Made for Usual Season of Sport in Cuba Improvements Under Way Indi ¬ cate that Manager Brown Is Sure of His Ground Hy J It Teffery TefferySaratoga Saratoga N Y August 20 There has been some speculation among racing folks as to the possible effect of the war upon racing in Cuba II D Brown general manager of the CubaAmerican Jockey Club who lias been among the visitors here during tin past few days makes the authoritative announcement that so far as he can foresee there will be nothing to interfere with the success of the race meeting which the organization of which he is the head is planning to conduct upon the usual lines at beautiful Oriental Park in the suburbs of Havana during the coming winter winterCommenting Commenting on the plans and prospects for the meeting Mr Brown said We are planning to conduct racing in Cuba next winter under much the same conditions that attended the banner meeting of 105 days that we gave there last winter While it is a bit too early to announce all the details patrons of Cuban racing from this country may safely count upon much the same arrangements that prevailed last year Anybody who may be appre ¬ hensive as to Cuban racing under the trying con ditions that the world is passing through can take comfort from the fact that we are spending a great deal of money at Oriental Park in improve ¬ ments preparatory to the opening of the season Those who Unowme will realize thatt I would not be doing this unless I were sure of my ground It costs much more to do such work under present conditions than normally but the increasing patron ¬ age of racing at Oriental Park demands the im ¬ provements which have been begun and they will be carried to completion long before the opening of the season which has been set for December 1 or thereabouts thereaboutsI I have recently returned from a trip to Cuba undertaken to supervise the beginning of the im ¬ provements at Oriental Park to which reference has been made These improvements include the substantial extension of the field enclosure and stand the laying down of much new concrete work the repainting of all the buildings within the en ¬ closure including the grandstand arrangements for the installation of fifteen additional parimutufl machines and further beautification of the grounds The last named item includes the setting out of a large number of royal palms of gigantic size the planting of an orange grove and the planting of fast growing bamboos along the entire length of the backstreteh to serve as a screen to shut out the stables from prominency in the magnificent view that presents itself from the grandstand Ori ¬ ental Park is already one of the beauty spots about Havana and it is our ambition to make it the most beautiful place in all Cuba CubaCuba Cuba in general and Havana in particular is more prosperous just now than ever before within my knowledge as one result of the worldwidt de ¬ mand for its products es eeially sugar growing out of the great war and this will lie a big factor in the success of our meeting next winter The people of Cuba have become thoroughly interested in rac ¬ ing and some of the islands leading citizens including President Menocal iave shown that their interest is more than casual by going in for bt btthoroughbreds thoroughbreds on a substantial scale with th mate object of producing racing stock with which to participate in the siwrt We shall encourage this movement by providing special races for Cubanbred thoroughbreds at the proper time
