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FRUITFUL YEAR OF RACING Most Prosperous Era of Sport During the Past Ten Years Progress Made in Every Branch Branchof of the Industry Much in Store Storefor for the Future New York November 29 The curtain is down Put out the lights on the last scene of horse racing in the east for the campaign of 1918 As usual the last stage setting was at Bowie Maryland which is the Alpha and Omega of the sport in this sec ¬ tion For eight months there has been continuous racing in the neighborhood and when one looks buck it has been the most fruitful season siucu the sport staggered up from the upper cut it re ¬ ceived ten years ago when Governor Hughes gave it the boot At that time there were a thousand pessimists to one optimist Its dead for good was the cry all round They were dark days but not so dark that the spark of resumption was in ¬ visible to those who were industrious enough to step into the blackness and fan it into a flame It took a lot of work and engineering patience too before there were any signs of possible prosperity Gradually it began to grow brighter and after two years smoldering the Jockey Club and its asso ¬ ciating offspring fanned the racing spark into a flame and the racing Phoenix arose from tiit embers a rather lanky and wellplucked bird but still alive It lias taken six years to get it full fledged and respectable looking but it is now well feathered and presentable in any community This means that racing today in this country is as well clothed in influential and financial raiment as it ever lias been iii its iistdry This year has proved that the sport can be comiuativi in and about New York on gate receipts alone and wnnoiit aid from any source that is not absolutely free from attack of what the celebrated Dr Frank Crane terms The Screaming Reformer ReformerLooking Looking back into the past racing seasons re ¬ sults there lias been progress in every branch of the industry for industry it is as well as a sport It creates trade amuses and puts millions of dollars in circulation that would probably not see the light of day but for the outlet in the purchase of horses feed labor and in other ways puts desirable goods on the market for which there is a genuine and continuous demand Reviewing its prosperity from the opening day at Uowie last April racing has shown that it is extremely popular Throughout Maryland every meeting this year lias shown a marked improvement over other years botii in spring and fall and lias proved that the public spirit lias not been dulled The autumn meetings in Maryland have been more than pleasing to horse ¬ men public and associations In New York pre ¬ dictions were made that the late meetings would be unsuccessful Quite to the contrary Even the closing meeting at Empire City in October almost doubled the expectations of the association It is doubtful if horsemen ever had a more prosperous year Possibly not since the enormous stakes and purses of twenty years ago when maidens were racing for thousand dollar purses and the stakes in spots amounted to between 40000 and 6000O with handicaps like the Suburban and Brooklyn valued at 25000 Every association in this state made sufficient money to insure improvements for next year and in most cases pay off some of their outstanding indebtedness as well as to declare dividends which though small still come under the head of dividends t tHIGHCLASS HIGHCLASS ENJOYABLE RACING RACINGSo So far as the patrons and spectators were con ¬ cerned they witnessed some highclass and enjoy able racing They saw exceptionally large fields of horses go to the post many times and while the class of racing material engaged in these cheap races may not have been of the star variety it provided worthy and sinctactilar contests contestsAs As for the racing material not a liorqe has really proved of such exceptional quality that it stood out distinctly from all others In the twoyearold class Hilly Kelly hardly compares with a horse like Colin or Sysouby and while he is probably the best of the year there are several which have hung to his saddleskirts too closely to designate him as far better than they Coining to the threeyearolds there was Johren War Cloud Jack Hare Jr Exter ¬ minator Sun Uriur and several others deserving recognition but each had to have excuses of some kind for defeats They were too uncertain and their records too much in and out to declare any one of them iu comparison with some of the great horses of the past like Domino Henry of Navarre Com ¬ mando Colin Hamburg Fitz Herbert and many others that could be mentioned which were prac ¬ tically always ready for a contest no matter what the conditions of the track or the weather weatherHandicap Handicap horses of first quality were few and far between Cudgel was probably the premier in the early part of the racing season Later George Smith came into prominence decidedly and at Saratoga Westy Hogan gave a sample of what he could do when in really sfood condition Of course old Koiimer put in his usual bid for championship honors and many a good argument he put up with horses of more tender years But age is beginning to tell on the sou of Knight Errant Rose Tree II and while he delivered the best he had in his races the rising generation of horses looked UJKHI him and treated him as a bit passe Omar Khayyam of which much was expected early in the year went all to pieces at no time living up to his three yearold reputation He may return next year a far better horse His trainer Sandy McXaughtoii thinks so and such is the hope of racegoers Concluding racegoersConcluding the resume there is much in store for racing folk in the future Imixirtations have infused new and goodly blood into the domestic breeding farms There will be plenty of racing material to provide snort everywhere and what is of most im ¬ portance the purses and stakes will bo large and satisfying Prosperity is on the racing horizon
