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Here and There on the Turf Chicago Stakes Closing. Coney Island Fixtures. Pilgrims Disqualification. Danger of Hard Tracks. The various stakes of the Chicago Busin?ss Mens Racing Association for the 1 ng meeting at Hawthorne close Saturday. This meeting will begin at Chicago July 2 and is to continue until September 7. The big event in the stake list is the Chicago Derby, to which 0,000 is added. This race was revived at Hawthorno last year and it is remembered that the late August Belmont sent Ladkin out for the race and was so confident of success that he mad a journey to Chicago to see the colt race. Earl Sande went on to ride him, but after making meet of the pace he was soundly beaten. Black Gold was the winner, with Giblon in second place and Senator Norris third. Another effort will be mad? to bring the money east this year and, to that end, there have been several New York entries made in the big race. One entry cf importance is that of Silver Fox of the Rancocas Stable and the colt that was a good second to American Flag in the running of the Withers Stakes. Another of the big features that has attracted a number of eastern nominations is th? 0,000 Chicago Special, which had its first decision at Hawthorne last year, when it was won by Giblon. This is at weight for age and is a dash of a mile and three sixteenths, which gives it an importance over its monetary value. In the running of the race there will surely be some of the best from every section. While the East has bern making various nominations, the Kentuckians will be variously represented in these Hawthorne stakes and, when the returns are counted, it will bs found that Chicago is in for some high class racing. Another list cf stakes will also close Saturday, for it is the last day on which nominations may be made to the list that will be offered for the new Coney Island track at Cincinnati. This meeting, which is to begin July 6, im mediately after the close of the Latnia meet ing. will run in opposition to Hawthorne and it will indeed make a strong appeal for the best patronage of horses and owners. As is the cas? at Hawthorne, the big feature is the Derby. It is the Cincinnati Derby and with an added money value of 5,030 there need be no fear of its not attracting the best three year-olds in training. Doubtless it will be so arranged that the dates for the running of these two big three-year old races wi!l not conflict, so that the same hrrses will have an opportunity to meet in each. That would be the sensible policy j for both racing associations. Time was wh°n the Preakness Stakes and the Kentucky Derby conflicted in the matter of dates rf running. I but it was not only unpopular with the horse men, but such poor business policy that there will never b,- a l.kc conflict again. In addition to this Cincinnati Derby the Canev Island Association will Uso present sev erttl rich handicaps and three big stakes for the two year olds, all of which close Saturday, i With racing through August at Saratoga! Springs, nawthorne and Coney Island, the midsummer racing will be better than at any time in the history of the American turf. The disqualification of Pilgrim at Belmont Park Thursday afiernon was fully justified by the fact that the hone crossed cer sharp to the inner rail in the stretch racing and ixii-peded Dream of the Valley. Barnes deserved : h» four days suspension for failing to keep the old horse straight, as he could not have ! been unaware of Pilgrims rail runnine pro elivities. The notable feature of the disquali fication incident, however, was that the stew ards acted without receiving a claim of foul As a general thing it has ccmc to be ex pected that the particular type of rough riding which brought about the disqualification of Pilgrim will be tolerated unless a specific claim of foul is lodged. Certain riders have a ten dency to take advantage of the fact that failure rn the part of an impeded rider to claim a foul, often result* in a corresponding failure on the part of the stewards to act. It is for I lie best interest of the sport that any such idea on the part of the jockeys should be quick ly and effectually exploded. If a rider know* that the stewards wJJ disqualify his mount and ■ e him down for impeding a rival, he will ! be much more careful than otherwise. Rough ; rid.iig is at all times inexcusable and there is never any reason why an offense of this type should be condoned. The racing at I.atonia during the first few . days of the meeting has shown that the claims i of the track superintendent in regard to the increased safety of the going, are justified. Tho time shown by the better class of horses is fast enough to indicate that the | course is still one of the fastest in the country, ;but is enough flower than the time shown by the same class of horses at the track last fall to testify to the presence of a cushion. i Some of the tune recordo made at Latoiua i last fall are likely to stand for many years. It is not likely that any track in this country will be allowed to come closely akin to concrete again. Trainers are succeeding, at last, in making the various track managements understand that a hard surfaced track will mean fewer and poorer entries. Time records have been looked up»on as a good advertisement for the course at which they were made, but good racing is a much better sort of publicity. No record which is made at the risk of breakiug a good horse down is worth the ha»-ard. Trainers realized this a long time ago, but it took those in control of the race tracks a much longer time to reach a full under, standing in this respect.
