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SHIFT IN RACING SCENE Fair Grounds Meeting of Forty-One Days Begins Thursday. New Year Handicap of ,000 Added Feature of Opening Day Program. BY J. L. DEMPSEY. 7CEW ORLEANS, La., December 28. This week will witness a. shift iii the racing scene here from Jefferson Park to the Fair Grounds, the change taking place on Xew Years day, and then for forty-pne days the sport will continue at that course. The new meeting will be marked by the running of the first of the ,000 added stakes on the opening day, the Xew Years Handicap, and also by the debut of a field of coming two-year-olds, as the first race on the first day will lo devoted to the "baby" colts and geldings, and .they will be asked to run three-eighths of a mile. In an effort to provide the best, possible in the way of high-class sport for the opening; the Business Mens Racing Association will give away ?9.400 in stake and purse money on New Years day. After that the purse distribution will average S5,400 daily, except on the days that the other three ,000 added stakes are run. Every day will witness the running of a feature race of ,000 value, chiefly overnight handicaps, and likewise there will be a .race for two-year-olds daily. No purse at the meeting will have a less value than S700, and there will be two or more worth 00 apiece each day. -There will, be a few changes in the personnel of the official family at the Fair Grounds from that at Jefferson Park, and several of those now serving at the latter track will act in different capacities at the other course. Sam C. Nuckols. Jr.. secretary of the Kentucky State Racing Commission and a steward at the Kentucky Jockey Clubs tracks, will serve as a steward at the Fair Grounds, along with Joseph A. Murphy and J. B. Campbell, iwhllo Joseph McLennan and Herman P. Conkling. the latter now a steward at Jefferson, will act as placing judges. In addition to these duties. McLennan will also lie racing secretary, while Conkling will be clerk of the scales. A. B.-Dade again will be starter, M. N. MacFarlan patrol judce and H. L; Jensen timer. Neither Nuckols, McLennan, Dade, MacFarlan nor Jensen are employed at Jefferson. The Fair Grounds management races under its own rules, which are patterned, with few exceptions, closely after those in use in Kentucky. The claiming rule in use in the Blue Grass State has been adopted in its entirety. One of the local rules, which is intended to promote moro long distance racing by offering weight allowances as an inducement to owners and trainers to send their horses over a long route of ground, is as follows: "In all selling and purse races at this meeting at a distance of one mile or over the following allowance may be claimed without respect to other allowances for horses that have never won a race at one mile or over; three-year-olds allowed three pounds; four-year-olds and over, allowed five pounds." PRACTICALLY A NEW PLANT. The Fair Grounds plant is practically a new one throughout. A new and commodious grandstand was built out of the old one, which was moved over from City Park; the track proper has been entirely resurfaced and an excellent drainage system perfected, and a number of new stables were erected. The finish line was moved back to its old location where it was before the fire, which necessitated moving the judges stand down toward the head of the stretch, and the horses will now have a quarter of a mile straight run after turning for home. The Fair Grounds course is not as wide as Jefferson Park, and the fields there will lie limited to twelve horses, with an "also eligible" list of four more. Due to its winding up during the holiday season, Jefferson Park is now enjoying the best part of its season. It was a pronounced success from the start on Thanksgiving day, due chiefly to tlie period of good weather which prevailed, unlike in former years, when rain was the ruling factor and only the poorer grade ot horsqs were seen in action. Horses which came from Kentucky have won a majority of tlie races run at Jefferson Park thus far this season, especially those over a long route of ground. They encountered some tough opposition in tlie feature sprint races several tinies from Thu Boy, which won three short races; Panaman, which set a new three-quarters of a mile track record. 1:12, and Arnold, a rather speedy son of Peep oDuy Victoria M.. but every one of this trio went down in defeat before a Kentucky horse at least once during the meeting. One of the most improved, as well as consistent, horses racing here is Breeze, 5. II. Abliotts five-year-old son of Ballot Elise B., which recently set a new mile track record of 1:39. The race in which he made tlie new mark was the fourteenth race for him this year, of which he won seven, and upon a couple of other occasions he was beaten by the narrowest of margins. He has been unplaced only twice. Each start finds him meeting lietter company, and ho graduated from the plater division early in the present meeting. He is being trained by W. II . Fizer. It was tlie twenty-third day of the meeting before one of the E. R. Bradley horses won a nice here, .and then Brother Maclean broke the ice for the master of Idle Hour Farm. Mr. Bradley is spending a few weeks here before going to Palm Reach. Fla.. for tlie winter, and he arrived in time to see Ills good filly I win lose a couple of races in heartrending finishes.. Jockey Lawrence Lyke. who rode with much success for the Bradley stable in Kentucky during tlie fall racing season, will be on hand at the Fair Grounds and he will ride the vearlings of this establishment.
