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i EARLY CALIFORNIA RACING Before 1892 Four-Day Meetings Were Held Spring and Fall. Sport Prospered Greatly, but Protracted Sessions Resulted in Passage of Adverse Legislation in Golden Gate State. The present revival of racing in California calls to mind the time in that state when the Blood Horse Association of California held four days of racing every spring and fall. That was before the fall meeting in 1S92. On the last day of the Blood Horse Asso-siation meeting in the spring of that year Thomas H. Williams mounted a box and, addressing the horsemen present, said: "The coming fall there will be continuous racing at the Bay District track, rain or shine." The speech was received with much acclaim by the horsemen present, as previous to that time the old Blood Horse Association held four days racing every spring and fall, in which the pick of the California-bred horses sported colors. Palo Alto, Theodore Winters, Santa Anita and other leading breeding establishments were represented in the stakes, and many a horse that afterward became famous ran his or her first race over the Bay District track. Continuous racing began in California on October 29, 1892. MAJOR WOODRUFF PRESIDING JUDGE. Major Woodruff officiated as presiding judge, and the late James B. Ferguson handled the flag, a much more hazardous undertaking than at the present time. Among well-known people present at that time were Senator James Fair, CapL Henry White of the fire patrol ; Col. Dan Burns, Charles Durfee, William Brady, Harry Corbett, Gaston Ashe, Porter Ashe, Thomas H. Williams, Col. Harry Thornton, Andy McDowell, Sid Lacey, Sands Forman, Joseph Cairn Simpson, Ed Smith, secretary of the State Fair Agricultural Association ; Robert Wieland, Charles Wieland, Al Wieland, Charles Fair, AW OB. Macdonough, Eli Dennison, Judge Reardon and Judge Lawlor. The first race of the day attracted the keenest interest, as the famous California mare, Geraldine, was among the starters. The race was at five-eighths a distance admirably suited to the flying daughter of Grinstead. Mike Kelly rode Geraldine, which proved an easy winner over Mackay, ridden by Bally, and Topgallant, with George Miller up. Mackay was 20 to 1 for the place. The second race, for two-year-old fillies, resulted in a sensational finish between Charley Fairs Princess and the Lorraine stables Princess Lorraine. Hill had the mount on Princess, which won by a nose fiom. the Kentucky filly, ridden by Perkin-scn. Charmer was third. Danny Millers filly, Charmion, was the winner in the third race, beating Happy Day, Grandee, Motto, Tyrona and Castro. Clancy piloted Charmion to victory. Old By Holly, long since dead, had Happy Day, which was noted for his wonderful stretch running abil- Continutd on twelfth page. EARLY CALIFORNIA RACING Continued from first page. ity. The race, distance seven-eighths, was run in 1 :27?i, which was a record for two-year-olds at that time. Sheridan, with Spooner up, succeeded in winning the handicap at one mile, with Al-mont second and Canny Scot third. The fifth race of the day was taken by Ida Glenn from Red Prince, Lottie Mills and others. This made the second win of the day for Danny Millers colors. Col. W. B. Woodruff, Col. Harry Thornton and Charles "Wieland officiated in the judges stand on the opening day, and the official timers were Peter Brandow and Herman Saxe. Among the horses that figured at this initial meeting were Conde, Charmer, Geraldine, Gold Dust, Dick OMalley, Hermidor, Topgallant, Fearless, Early Rose, Princes First. Gibson, Alfred B., Motto, El Rayo, Cyclone, Raindrop, Ambrose, Gladiator, Midnight, Applause. Annie Moore, Stoneman, Malcolm. Crawford. Wicklow, Castro, Joe Cotton, Darcbin Irish filly a superb mudder, Marigold, Ledalla, Democrat, Little Esper-anga, Regal and Lottie D. OWNERS AT THE MEETING. Some of the owners who figured quite prominently at the meeting were: Charles Fair, Dan Dennison, Dan Miller, Maltese Villa stable, J. Reavey, Santa Anita, Matt Storn, Manuel Den, Hanger Jones, Phil Sei-benthaler, G. H. Kennedy, George Van Gor-den, J. B. Chase, Elmwood, Stock farm, Simeon G. Reid, Henry Schwartz, By Holly, D. R. Dickey. There are few of the old-time owners that are now alive. The jockeys who figured at the meeting were George Miller, Hill, Mike Kelly, Tom Bally, Madden, Edson, Burlingame, Perkin-son, J. Weber, C. Weber, Ambrose, Clancy, Hart, H. Smith, Spooner Cota, Nichol. The first day of the meeting was made memorable by the purchase of the famous and unbeaten English race horse Ormonde for 50,000, by the then young California millionaire, W. OB. Macdonough. This was the highest price ever paid for a thoroughbred at that time. The negotiations for the purchase of Ormonde were of a most exciting nature. The horse at that time was owned by Senor Bo-ceau of Buenos Aires. Charles Reed of Tennessee was keen to buy the horse for the south, but Dr. Ross, who represented W. OB. Macdonough, obtained the horse a few minutes before midnight. Senor Boceau informed Dr. Ross that it would be Sunday at midnight and that he would transact no business on that day. Then came the offer of 50,000, which was accepted.. Ormonde was shipped back to England and thence to California, the deal representing an outlay of 00,000. The California crack, Wildwood, made his debut at the meeting on November 2. Misty Morn, Grandee, Captain Al and Cyclone earned winning brackets on the same day. There were no less than twenty breakaways in one race which would be considered unusual by racegoers who cannot go back to the days of the flag starting. Cyclone was a 20 to 1 shot, as he was not regarded to have much chance against either Applause or Lottie Mills. The third day of the meeting was made memorable by the win of Michael M. at 40 to 1. The famous race mare Santa Ann also made her appearance at the meeting. The sensational feature of the days racing however, was the dead heat between Princess and Charmion. The latter was held at 1 to 2, while 5 to 2 could be obtained against Princess. Charmion caught Princess in the last stride. In the run off Charmion ruled a 3 to 5 favorite, while 7 to 5 was the odds offered against the Cheviot filly. Princess, ridden by Hill, proved victorious. Dicy Havey, later the official timer at Oakland, was the trainer of Princess. He had all the Fair horses. On November 5, Wildwood won two races in succession. He captured the second race at one mile and came right back and won the third race at a mile and a sixteenth. It was reported at the track that C. A. Brown had leceived an offer of ,500 from Ed Corrigan for Wildwood. The sensation on November 18 was the defeat of Geraldine by Gibson in a five and a half furlong dash. Misty Morn raced out with Geraldine, but Gibson came fast and beat out the celebrated mare in the closing strides. The race was run in 1:06, a track record at that time. Racing prospered in California. New tracks sprung up and meetings ran for unlimited periods. One meeting continued for over a year. In later years the racing was confined to the Oakland track and Ascot and Santa Anita Park in Los Angeles. Racing at Oakland usually lasted from Thanksgiving until late in the spring of the next year. Finally too much racing sounded the death knell of the sport in California. The legislature passed a stringent law, similar to the Hart-Agnew law of New York, prohibiting betting on races and Oakland closed its doors after the meeting of 1911.
