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Here and There on the Turf Early Maryland Stakes. Training Work Begins. Advance of Bowie. Three-Year-Old Prospects. The announcement of stakes for the Bowie and Havre tie Grace spring meetings promise interesting sport at the outset of the eastern racing season. The opening day of the Bowie .inciting, April 1, will be featured by the running of the Inaugural Handicap, a ,000 i event at seven-eighths, for three-year-olds and over. The distance is such that trainers will be able to have their mature horses read in many cases, in spite of the early date, and, although the horses from the winter tracks are likely to have the edge on their rivals in conditions, the contest is likely to be a i good one. The Capital Handicap, another seven-eighths 1 dash, has an added value of ,500, and is for : three-year-olds exclusively. Kentucky Derby and Preakness candidates are not likely to face the starter in this race, but there will 1 undoubtedly be plenty of second flight three-year-olds . available to make its running interesting. - The most interesting of the Bowie stakes, however, is likely to be the Prince George 2 Handicap of April 11. This is a ,000 race, at a mile and a sixteenth, and it should attract a good field of mature horsss. It may V be the first start of the year for several of the more promising additions to the handicap - division which have wintered in Maryland. Pleasant weather in the metropolitan area has resulted in great training activity at the Long Island tracks during the past few days. ;. The winter has been an exceptionally open n , one around New York, and a certain amount of outdoor exercise has been possible through almost the entire cold season. If the present spell of good weather lasts 5 it is quite possible that a number of stables s which have wintered at the Long Island tracks will be encouraged to campaign at the Bowie 0 meeting. The more advanced members of these establishments should be ready for racing :" by that time. Meanwhile, the horses that wintered at the e Maryland courses and at the old Bsnning track k are advancing rapidly toward racing condition. Reports from these training centers s are that these horses are approaching good d form, and with fit horses from the winter ;r tracks to fill in, there should be no dearth of f horses for these early meetings. The Bowie meeting, not so many years ago, a. was considered, to all practical purposes, only y a continuation of the winter campaign, so far ir as class of the horses was concerned, but all 11 that has changed greatly in recent years. The ic meetings at Prince George Park, spring and fall, attract plenty of important stables and id a good share of the leading horses of the le country take part in the sport there. Because of the open winter it is likely thai it 0 of :" e k s d ;r of f a. y ir all 11 ic id le it more horses will be ready for Bowie racing this year than is usual, and the stake races of the meeting are likely to develop into really interesting contests. The overnight races will attract some of the good handicap horses and three-year-olds which need the final tightening up that only actual racing can give for the important events to come, After the Bowie meeting closes Havre de Grace will open its gates for the spring meeting April 1G. Four stake races will be decided at the Harford County course during the meeting. The Harford Handicap, for three-year-olds and over, at three-quarters, will feature the opening days card. This race has always at-id tracted good fields and this years race will probably be well up to the standard of past years. The 5,000 Dixie Handicap, to be run at the Pimlico meeting, gives additional interest to both the Harford and Philadelphia handicaps, which will be run at Havre de Grace April 26. The Philadelphia, like the Harford, is a ,000 race, but its distance, one mile and a sixteenth, makes it a more im portant trial for Dixie candidates. There is no question that the Dixie Handicap, the most important early-season race for the older horses, will attract the cream of the handicap division. These horses will need several races to tighten them up for the rich Pimlico event, and the two Havre de Grace fixtures will serve this purpose admirably. The Aberdeen Stakes, with ,000 added, for two-year-olds, at four and a half furlongs, and the Chesapeake Stakes, with ,000 added, at a mile and a sixteenth, for three-year-olds, are the other fixtures on the Havre de Grace program. The Chesapeake Stakes is always looked upon as a great test for Preakness Stakes candidates and a considerable number of the candidates for the big Pimlico race always face the barrier in the earlier race. Tb.2 three-j-ear-olds of this year, except the three leaders, Sarazen, Wise Counsellor and St. James, appear to be a fairly even band, and the Chesapeake Stakes will probably eliminate a considerable number of them from the Preakness Stakes. Sarazen, Wise Counsellor and St. James are not at all likely to face the starter in the Chesapeake Stakes. Their absence will probably help to make the race more interesting, as the trainers of less impressive three year-clds will be more ready to send their charges to tho post, if these horses are not in the entries. It is always possible and even probable that the two-year-old cracks of one year will not carry on as three-year-olds, or that some obscure two-year-old of one year will find his racing legs and beat the supposed champions as a three-year-old. These early races may uncover some new star and in that possibility lies a considerable share of their interest.
