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Here and There on the Turf Approach of Eeal Racing Migration of Winter Horses HorsesNorth North Something About Junipers With the shipments that have begun from New Orleans for both Kentucky and Maryland one is reminded that the opening of the rac ¬ ing season in the North is less than six weeks away Bowie is the first of the big tracks that throws its gates open in the spring and while the Maryland dates have not yet been announced it is safe to predict that the open ¬ ing day will be Monday April 2 The Mary ¬ land Jockey Club has already made announce ¬ ment that the Pimlico meeting will be from May 1 to May 12 inclusive and there must have been an assurance from the Maryland Racing Commission that the dates will be granted grantedThree Three of the stables that have raced through the winter months at New Orleans have al ready packed up for the trip to Maryland and C T Worthingtons string as well as that of William Perkins has besn headed back to Lexington The Kentucky campaign will not open until April 28 By that time the horses that have been campaigned during the winter months will have an opportunity to be rested for the more arduous campaign of the spring and summer summerThere There are still enough of the winter races of importance left to keep a considerable num ¬ ber of the best winter horses engaged and at Jefferson Park the indications are that the Louisiana Derby that has been planned will result in some of the best stables remaining on the grounds to the last day But the spring migration has begun and it will not be long until the snow is gone and the thorough ¬ breds are back backThere There have been no outstanding develop nients at any one of the winter courses al though the racing has been interesting In the matter of jockeys at New Orleans it would seem that Corcoran and Mein arc the most notable lightweights to come to the front They will both be in ready demand when they arrive on the big time tracks Already flat ¬ tering offerings have been made for each of these youngsters and they will not want for opportunity opportunityThe The racing will continue at Tijuana for a considerable lime after the close of both Jef ¬ ferson Park and Oriental Park as both of those meetings will come to a conclusion next month The date for the close of the Cuban racing has not been announced but Jefferson Park will close its meeting March 17 17It It is usual that the best of the horses that have been hardened by winter racing have a shade over those that have been in idleness during the cold months Nothing fits a horse like racing But this is a condition that does not last long for these horres that have been campaigned continuously scon have enough of it when asked to continue into the spring while those that have enjoyed a holiday be ¬ come better by reason of the rest they have enjoyed One can usually expect the pick of the New Orleans and the Havana horses to have an advantage for the first week of the Bowie meeting But before that meeting is over the fresh horses have become fit and the win ¬ ter campaigners as a general rule become jaded Thus it is that the racing swings around year after year and frequently the winter campaigner after racing into the spring needs its wellearned rest before the summer comes comesThe The amount of snow that has fallen this year should aid materially in the early prepara ¬ tion of horses that have been wintered in the North The snow has been a protection to the various training grounds that has pre ¬ vented the deep frost that otherwise would have frozen the courses This should make the ground ideal for training operations and it will be surprising if there are not a greater number of fit horses for the New York and the Kentucky openings than ever before beforeFortunately Fortunately the general health of the horses has been excellent at all of the training grounds and many of them have had enough exercise all through the cold weather to make it pos ¬ sible to go into the serious work of train ¬ ing just as soon as the tracks are in a fit condition for fast galloping gallopingR R H Specs Crawford the accomplished crosscountry rider who recently returned j from abroad enthusiastic over the steephchas ing in England Ireland and France called at ¬ tention to the fact that many entire horses are put through the field with success on the other side of the Atlantic In America it is Feldom indeed that an entire horse is raced over the fences and it is doubtful if any steeplechasers of last year were entire horses Of the first thirtynine that figured among the steeplechase winners there were thirty three geldings four mares and two fillies Of these winners there were two twelveyearolds in the mare Belle of Bryn Mawr and the gelding Fair Mac one tenyearold in the gelding Crest Hill one nineyearold in In ¬ fidel II three eightyearolds eight seven yearolds nine sixyearolds eight fiveyear fiveyearolds olds six fouryearolds and one threeyearold threeyearoldSea Sea Master MasterSoumangha Soumangha the leader of them all in point of money won was a sevenyearrold mare and a mare was also second on the list when the thesixyearold sixyearold Sea Tale was less than 2000 back of the Greentree Stable mare Two oth ¬ ers were winners of amounts in excess of 10000 and they were the sixyearold gelding Lieutenant Seas and the fiveyearold gelding Minata MinataWhile While it is admitted that steeplechasing is of much more importance in England France and Ireland than it is in this country there were only six imported horses in the thirty nine that appear on the list The gelding Courteous was the most successful of these The others were Overmatch Roi Craig Blighty II Le Marsouin and Ards ArdsAbout About all this teaches is that it has not j been the habit to bring over good ones This feature may be changed this year with withthe the importations that have been arranged for and it would seem that the homebred product I will be hard put to it if they are to lead the foreigners at tho end of the year not over looking that the foreigners may not repro ¬ duce their form in the lands of their birth
