view raw text
NEARING THE FINISH Only Fourteen Days Remain of Fair Grounds Meeting. Considerable Improvement Noted Last Week McMiHen and Goldblatt Large Winners. NEW ORLEANS, La., Feb. 17. "With forty days of racing now history and only fourteen more days left, the Fair Grounds, meeting can well he said to be entering the homestretch. The racing at the Crescent City course will terminate Mardi Gras, March 4. The Jefferson Park spring meeting will begin Wednesday, March 5, and continue until March 17, when the 5,000 Louisiana Derby will have its decision. The past week found conditions considerably improved and resembling former best season aspect. Activities were greater, attendance more to anticipation and the whole racing atmosphere along former lines, that marked the Fair Grounds the greatest winter racing center in the country. For some unaccountable reason there has been a marked financial slump over former j ears. Comparison with the thirty-eight days of last years racing finds this winters financial returns almost CO per cent less. In addition the expense has been greatly increased. There was a S,000 increase in purses and an outstanding obligation of nearly 0,000 on the city park notes. It is almost certain there will be no profits to speak of for the Fair Grounds this winter. With the near approach of the Mardi Gras festive season nnd the certainty of an influx of visitors will come improvement at the track and also an increase in revenue. LEADING lVnrNIXG owT:its. The huge purse aggregate has been well distributed. J. McMillen, by virtue of the success of the sturdy Flint Stone, is the leading owner with a sum in excess of 0,000. Following him closely comes Mose Goldblatt, also with 0,000 to his credit The Green-tree Stable and S. N. Holman, each with over ,000 in earnings, are close up and William Daniel and J. Arthur, with more than ,000 to their accounts, have fared well. The Audley Farm Stable, Mrs. A. Swenke and T. H. F.crnhardt, the latter a local owner, have each over 1924.sh,000 to their account Others that have won over ,000 include E. K. Bryson, Jones Stock Farm Stable, the Friars Inn Stable. Idle Hour Stock Farm Stable, B. F. McClain and Jefferson Livingston. Forty-three owners have garnered more than ,000 by the success of their horses up to the present at the Fair Grounds. Jockey Parke continues to be the outstanding riding star a the track. His work has been little short of phenomenal. It is true that he is much in demand and secures good mounts, but it cannot be denied that he is a good jockey. For the forty days racing at the Fair Grounds he has piloted sixty-nine winners, been second on fifty occasions and third twenty-five times. He has been unplaced eighty-two times. Jockey L. "McDcr-mott is also riding in good form. He has twenty winners to his credit since the first of the year. He is more rugged than Parke and can handle a sluggish horse to better advantage. Jockey L. Lang has ridden nineteen winners. He is a mere child and his light weight gives him opportunity. Jockey Pool has not been riding much. He has had fifty mopnts and has ridden seven winners. The veteran E. Martin still retains his cunning in two-year-old dashes and has ridden a number of the baby racers to victory. Going over a considerable distance of ground is another story. In point of age Romanelli has it on Martin. This rider has plyed his vocation in various parts of the world. He has had only four mounts during the meeting and has one winner to his credit. good sroitT ix mosrECT. From a racing standpoint the present week at the Fair Grounds promises to be the most noteworthy of the entire meeting at the local track, for during its course two of the meetings chief events are to be decided. They are the George Washington Birthday Handicap, which will feature the holiday card of Friday and the Carrollton Claiming Stakes, which will provide a worthy head-liner on Saturdays program. The former race is at one mile and seventy yards, while tho latter will be run over the mile and a half course. Both stakes are for three-year-olds and over and have an endowment of ,000. The George Washington Handicap has attracted the better field, with a total of twenty-one nominations. Tho other race, on account of the claiming clause in the conditions, will bring out a less capable band that will be drawn from the list of sixteen nominatons that include Bruncll, Dr. Clark. Links, Olynthus, Knights Bridge, Dustabout, Flying Devil, llama. Pequot, Brotherly Love, Xanthos, Freezy Sneezy, Old Faithful, Irish Pat, Hickory and Isosceles. The list of nominations to the George Continued from ciflitli pajc. NEAR1NG THE FINISH Continued from first page. Washington Handicap embraces Cherry Tree, Dr. Clark, Triumph, Revenge, Cloughjordan, Romany, Extra Edition. Costigan, Llewellyn, Best Pal, Barracuda, Telescope, Exodus, Dustabout, Stake Me, Mali Jong, Rama, Thorndale, The Roll Call, . Setting Sun and Isosceles. With the termination of the local racing not far away, horsemen are beginning to arrange their plans for the spring campaign on the Kentucky, Maryland and New York tracks. The better class of stables have made extensive stake nominations at the various tracks to which they will ship and this applies more particularly to the Kentucky establishments whose horses will be seasoned for the early spring racing at Lexington and Churchill Downs. Mrs. J. Bauer has sold the four-year-old Avalanche to J. S. Whatley on private terms. The horse has been turned over to Al Lu-zader to train.
