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Twenty Years Ago Today Chief Turf Events of Dec. 29, 1904 Racing at New Orleans, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Tod Sloan will leave Los Angeles tonight for Hot Springs. He had a big bet down on I i Blissful, winner of the fifth race, and he is ahead on winnings here. Little R. McDaniel, who piloted three winners at Ascot Park, Los Angeles, is rapidly gaining favor here. The lad is the son of Dave McDaniel, superintendent of Elm Ridge Park, Kansas City, and a nephew of Henry and William McDaniel, trainers respectively for M. T. Tichenor and Co. and William Cerat. The New York newspapers are intent on turning over to a trotting horse trainer and driver E. E. Smathers string of thoroughbreds, but they do not agree on the man. The New York Sun has nominated Ed Geers, whih the Morning Telegraph names George Spear thusly: "It would seem that E. E. Smathers has despaired of getting Sam Hildreth to train his stable of runners next year. George Spear, who for the past three years has trained and driven Mr. Smathers trotters, will go to Memphis in a few days to take charge of the yearlngs purchased by Hildreth last fall for Mr. Smathers. The running turf is new to Spear, but he has been most successful in handling trotters and his friends predict that he will succeed with hh new duties. It is understood that Spear will take full charge and will train and manage the stable when it comes East next spring. He won almost 130,000 last season with Mr. Smathers horses. The Smathers yearlings, which number more than thirty. W2re the pick of the sales last fall, as ILIdreth was never outbid on one he wanted. They will be handicapped to a certain extent becauss of their ineligibility to many stakes, due to the fact that the transfers of their engagements were erroneously made to Hildrsth, who is a disqualified man under the rules of the Jockey Club.
