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Twenty Years Ago Today Chief Turf Events of March 29 1903 Sunday no racing racingSidney Sidney J Holloway the wellknown gen ¬ tleman rider who broke a collarbone while schooling a horse at Benning last week is rapidly recovering his health and strength He expects to be able to ride again in ten days and have a mount in the Hunters Steeplechase Handicap a week from next Saturday SaturdayS S Doggett has decided to quit riding for good and all He has taken out a trainers license and will bend his energies in that di ¬ rection in the future He and his brother R C Doggett own three horses now which Sam will train the coming season They have a two3earold colt by Wagner a twoyear old filly by Albert and the threeyearold filly Sis Wagner and may add to their stable later Perry Belmont last Wednesday engaged the lightweight jockey Wallace Hicks to ride for him this year on the metropolitan circuit Hicks will enter immediately upon his scrv i ices as Mr Belmonts rider and remain in his s service until December 1 A clause in this contract between Mr Belmont and Mr A J P Plieque Hicks guardian stipulates that Mr E Belmont shall have first call on the boys services next year if this years work is satis factory The securing of a jockey was the object of Mr Belmonts visit to Washington a and when that business was conclude he left for New York lie will not visit the Ben ¬ ning track again this spring unless called over on particular business There is an air of bustle and excitement these d days around the track of the Metropolitan Jockey Club at Jamaica With the opening day little more than a month away much remains to be done bsfore the gates can be thrown open In all parts of the inclosure large forces of men are at work on the different things to be done but C S Voorhees who has the work in charge predicts that everything will be spick and span on April 27 If it is it will be order cut of chaos This much can fc be said however that when completed the t new jockey club will have a home of which it can well afford to feel proud and the gov erning body will be subject to congratulations on the strength and progress of its youngest member Nothing is to be stinted The best materials are being employed and in the hands of skilled mechanics are bound to result in comfort and stability staff and his colors should be as prominent prominentboth theB both East and West as they have been in the thepast past John I Smith in his long engagement as trainer and stable manager for the late II II Hewitt met with satisfying success and the many good ones he developed for that owner was a testimonial to his skill as a con ditioner William Shields has long since i earned his spurs as a trainer and he has in no wise lost the cunning that was his when he had Hcrmis as the star of the string in his care The manner in which the horses have been training at Bowie during the last week sug gests that those which will come from New Orleans hard and fit from actual racing will not find a band of fat and unfit horses to meet Each year it is natural to expect more of the horses that have been fitted by racing than from the horses that have only had their theirmorning morning works to fit them but this spring many a horse that has idhd through the winter is ready for the colors today This should assure excellent racing at the opening of the Marjland campaign at Bowie Monday and it is an indication that the meet ing will have large fields of fit horses trying for the purses The importance of Bowie has grown to such an extent that better horses are fitted for its early opportunities than in pre vious years and those that raced at Nev Orleans or Havana since last Thanksgiving Day will find plenty of lively contention
