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2 Here and There .", on the Turf 4 5 Eastern Season Opens. 6 , Endorsement of Miami Racing. 7 Pimlico Stakes Closing. 1 Lee 0. Cotners Training. 3 Racing has come buck for the 1925 turf sea- . 4 son. That is it has come back to Marylaiid T. in the East. Bowie, as usual, has raised the curtain and the opening which is to hold out 6 brighter promise than ever before for a new 7 . racing season. And it is Maryland that will hnld public interest throughout the American 1 thoroughbred world until the opening of the Kentucky campaign at Lexington, where horses i are making ready for that section, which is to begin April 25. The success that came to the Bowie opening was deserved and expect ed. The Southern i Maryland Agricultural Association has been ex ceedingly liberal in its program for the meet ing just begun, and the horsemen have shown their appreciation by making better horses ready than ever before. Better racing, and better horses, naturally attract better patronage, and Bowie cannot fail to have its banner meeting. When Bowie first came into the scheme c.f racing in Maryland there were many discomforts in the transportation to and from the cour.-e. The facilities for a considerable time were utterly inadequate, but with the progre.-s f the racing there has been a corresponding improvement in the travelling facilities until 1 now the W. B. and A. electric road offers a I prompt and efficient service from both Balii . more and Washington. The Miami Jockey Club has been endorsed J by the Chamber of Commerce of that city. • This endorsement came in a set of resolutions 5 recently adopted in which racing was treated. The resolutions are worth reproducing. They are: "Whereas, the directors of the Miami Chamber of Commerce, ever mindful of the development and growth of Miami and Dade county in particular, and the state of Florida in general, did observe closely the management and operation of the Miami Jockey Club during the race meeting just closed, and "Whereas, after such observation, we believe that the races were conducted in a fair and honest manner; that no arrests were made on the grounds for any offense; that the I | I meetings were as orderly as a baseball gam-; "That about 85 per cent of the attendance was of tourists who came to Florida for pleasure and amusement and will go to Europe, New Orleans or Havana if necessary, to obtain it; "That the crowds attending the races were the highest class that ever attended races in America ; "That many thousands of people were brought into the state of Florida to attend the races and visited and invested in other sections of Florida; Therefore, be it resolved that the directors of the Miami Chamber of Comimrce endorse the efforts of the Miami Jockey Club, in giving clean and amusing sport at their race track." It is a big thing to have racing, or any other snort, obtain such an endorsement from the chamber of commerce of a city, and this endorsement reflects the temper of the mer chants of Miami regarding the racing. E. G. Sewell, president of the Miami Chamber ;.f Commerce, gave excellent reasons for the adopting of the resolutions of endorsement , when he said that Miami merchants generally had reported that the volume of business for I | I , the year was far greater than in any other. They attributed the increase in great part due to the races. It was also significant for the reason that the business of ether winter resorts had hardly been up to the usual standard. To those who thoroughly appreciate the [ importance of racing this action of the cham- [ ber of commerce appears entirely natural, but I i there are many who do not fully appreciate: the importance of racing. What makes this j ; action of the Miami body doubly significant :s the fact that in some quarters, though it is admitted they were few, a doubt was ex! pressed of racing doing any real good for the city or the state. j With the head and front of the business interests of the city giving the sport such an endorsement it means much for the future j periods of racing in Miami. The Miami Jockey Club has built well for its next meeting, and with this assurance of the support of the business men there is no telling just to what importance the winter racing will grow. But, no matter what measure of success attends j the Miami racing, it has been promised that the meeting will never be extended beyond the length of the meeting of this year and there wdl not be an earlier opening of the meeting. Attention is called to the fact that the stakes for the coming Pimlico meeting of the Maryland Jockey Club are to be closed Tuesday. This meeting follows the racing of the Harford Association at Havre de Grace on A May 1, and among the big races that are to , dose is the Preakness Stakes, with its 0,000 I in added money. The Dixie Handicap, which is a 5,000 I padded opening day feature, is a race that was i [ [ I i j ; j j j A , I I i : closed January 2. and the weights were announced - by Frank J. Bryan, the club han-dcapper, on February 2. This big race, with l the Preakness Stakes and other liberal values, that will be distributed during the eleven days of racing, means that the Maryland Jockey ,Club will give away considerably in excess of ,00,000 for the short meeting Lee O. Cotner is the latest of the Derby candidates in training at Churchill Downs to attract attention. This good colt has been training along favorably for a considerable time, but now his gallops are being stretched out a bit and a much better line is obtainable on his qualifications for the mile and a quarter of the big race to be decided May 16. The latest move was a mile in 1 :43%, and it was ample to demonstrate that he is being brought up to his engagement in a satisfactory man ,ner. May 16 is still more than six weeks away and this good celt has ample time, barring any enforced interruption, to be right at himself when the Derby falls due. In the meantime, the candidates that are in preparation at Belmont Park and Aqueduct are also going along famously, and there are several that are just about far enough advanced to make a speedy move on the natu ral program. Even with the Derby more than six weeks away it appears now as though the field for the race would be the largest that .ever went to the post in the historic contest. .jit is also a race that appears to be a particularly open one, for no one of the eligib!e3 stands out with any great degree of prominence over its fellows. At a meeting of the Business Mens Racing Association, to be held April 21, a proposal will be offered to change the name of the organi- zation to the Louisiana Jockey Club. Should this change be made it will restore a famous old name of the long ago. Another change that is contemplated is to have a board of five directors, and, likewise, a board of governors to control the destinies of the organization. Elaborate plans are in the making for the racing of next year and, while the meeting this year did not begin to pay its way, there is a disposition to add to the values rather than to make any curtailment.
