view raw text
SPA TRACK IMPROVED Saratoga Course Regraded and Resurfaced Since Last Meeting. ♦ Steeplechase Field Also Overhauled — Crack Performers in Jumping Stakes. NEW YORK, N. Y.. April 16.— Horsemen will find a new surface over which to race and train their horses at Saratoga Springs this year, and superintendent Clare is confident that the footing will meet with the approval of the most captious critic among the host of owners and trainers, who make their annual pilgrimage to the lovely course where , | racing history has been made in this country | since 1864. Racing secretary Victor E. Sehaumberg, who spent Saturday and Sunday at Saratoga, returned home in an enthusiastic frame of mind. "Superintendent Clare has given the entire course a dressing of top soil that has been in treatment for several years. The track : : was regarded as a preliminary, and the dressing of top soil applied to the depth of several inches. Superintendent Clare is proud of the finished job and deservedly so, as I never saw a better surface over which to race. STEEPLECHASE COURSE BETTER, "The steeplechase course has had a thorough overnauling, too. It always was a good course, fully up to the standard in the way of regulation, but this year when our entries for the various jumping fixtures I j are so good, it is pleasing to know that they will be decided under the most favorable conditions. "A new secretarys office has been built at the end of the clubhouse, near the stairway leading from the carriage drive, and the entire plant has been thoroughly overhauled. The place was never more beautiful than it promises to be this year, and with the open spring, work is so far advanced that we could race tomorrow, if we ! needed to." ; The entries for the four steeplechase stakes to be run during the Saratoga meeting closed ; j recently so satisfactorily that some of the I best cross-country sport ever seen at the Springs should be offered for the enjoyment I j of that army of racegoers that make it a point to spend the month of August at the Spa. CANADIANS REPRESENTED. In former years the Canadians, who have J , a fondness for jumpers, were wont to bring 1 their cracks to Saratoga in force. A generation ago they made themselves felt with 1 such clever jumpers as Charlemagne, Rose, Lion Heart and Rienzi. This year the Queen 1 City Stable, composed of American and Canadian sportsmen, will be represented by the cracks Not Much, The Red Knight, and Clinch. These are expected to hold their own with the best of the American jumpers in the J5.000 Saratoga Steeplechase Handicap, which closed with fifty-six nominations. Among the best of the American nominations for this event are Dan IV., Bullseye, Houdini, Barleycorn, Damask, Al Fresco, William W. II., Husky, Handsome, Indian Trail, Upsal, Donaghee, Skyscraper II., Dunks Green, Courteous, Carabinier, Thorn-dale, Dandiprat. Relentless and Autumn Bells. There are several purely English horses engaged, and William A. Read will have his colors borne by one of the best in the mare Sans Peche. Indian Trail, Thorn-dale and Ipsal are making their first appearance through the field. All were good performers on the flat, and, if they take kindly to jumping, are sure to make themselves felt. FIFTY-SIX IN BEVERWYCK. The Beverwyck closed with fifty-six nominations, while the North American and Shil-lelah each received fifty-nine entries. In these events are several horses representing owners that have not been particularly prominent in cross-country sport. Among the best known are Bayard Warren, C. L. A. Heiser, A. J. Davis, Everglades Stable, Mrs. Alexander Brown, F. M. Alger and L. H. Conger. Mr. Heiser is a Maryland sportsman, and it is over his estate that the Maryland Hunt Cup is run very spring in the vicinity of Baltimore. Mr. Alger is a Michigan sportsman whose colors will be welcomed in the East, while the Everglades Stable has been best known on the turf through the performances of Wise Counsellor and Worth-more. It is the property of F. A. Burton and J. H. Ward.
