view raw text
BY AIRPLANE MAIL. SAN DIEGO, Calif., Nov. 28. Very fancy name, John I. Day and Lucien Cassidy selected for their track at Miami. First winter meeting at the new Florida course Avill be over before some of the lads have mastered the pronunciation of Uia trades name. Hialeah. Distinctive, Aery. If it were the name of a horse, wed bo certain it Avas sired by Jai-Alai But there have been lots of race courses with queer names. When the Seattle association built its track, in 1902, it offered a prize for the best name. In the words of Spud McSord, some "lila" were sent in. And with thousands of names before them, the selecting committee chose "The Meadows." ! But the boys at least could pronounce that name. Later, when the northwestern lads crossed into Idaho for their summer racing, they had to mouth "Coeur dAlene." And they didnt. A few came close to it, but spelling it was something else o-er again. Milwaukee had a course known as Ideal Park. Charlie Quinn went there once, back in 97. He looked it over and after picking three losers, asked Roy Carruthers Avhat wa3 ideal about the. place. Then Charlie took a train for Xew York. Nobody knows Avhcre Iron Hill got its name. Some wag once remarked, that no one but an iron man could stand more than one season of it. Every horse that wer.t there to race became an iron horse before he left. Few of them ever started less than five times a Week. Remember Stumptown? In New Orleans, acrcss from the City Park Course? Half-miler. The site is used now as a radio station. The infield was full of stumps. Every now and then after a rain a few wculd show up in the track itself. And the form of Stumptown races was chock full of hidden stumps for the players to trip over. Buena Vista, out in Salt Lake City, waa another course whose name the boys never succeeded in pronouncing. Mcst of thera were anxious to forget the place anyhow. Cote Brilliante was rather a classy monikc for a race course. It was the big St Louis track prior to the opening of the old Fair Grounds course. Back in the first days of American racing, when the nation was in its swaddling- clothes, they used very little imagination in choosing names for their "tracks. In Brooklyn they had tho Union and Fashion courses, and the track in Washington was known as the National Course. In Virginia and South Carolina they copied the mother country and called their tracks Newmarket. But the Virginians of that period gave some of their racing grounds names that savor of our modern Piping Rock. They had the Tree Hill, Broad Rock and Fairview Courses. Baltimores first course had no name, so they called it the Maryland Course. Washington Course, near Charleston, was the principal American race course one hundred years ago. Think theyve always had half-mile track racing at Marlboro? Back in 1768 they were racing the best horses Ave had in Upper Marlboro. American Eclipse beat Henry over the Union Course, in Brooklyn. Oldest track in the west is the Lexington course. Never had any other name. Like Saratoga, it didnt need any. Just mention Lexington or Saratoga to a man and he knows hes got to get ready to talk horse. One of New Jerseys oldest tracks Avas the Beacon Course. Metaire was New Orleans first race course. Lexington and Lecomte staged their great battles over the track that is now a cemetery. Sheepshead Bay and Washington Park Chicago were two of the most popular tracks identified with American racing. Aside from Upsom Downs. That little course by the canal holds a soft spot in the hearts of all the lads. After surviving a season at judge Blinkirons racing park, they realized how trifli-3 all their other tragedies were. But, as Mr. McSord once remarked, "What difference does the name of the track make? I had the greatest season I ever enjoyed at a track located at 110th Street and First Avenue, Xew York, a track that never was dignified with any other name than The Dump. And the worst campaign I eAcr endured happened at Belmont Park."
