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Here and There on the Turf Big Week in Bacing Victory of Blockhead Where Mad Play Stands Wagering at Hawthorne This is a big week for the American turf both in New York and Kentucky There are several important stake races down for de ¬ cision and Saturday will see the running of the 25000 Latonia Derby of the Kentucky Jockey Club over the beautiful Latonia course There will also be a renewal of the Cincinnati Trophy of threequarters with 5000 added for twoyearolds on the same date These two fixtures make it the most important date cf the Latonia meeting meetingThe The Derby attracted 120 nominations which include all of the best threeyearolds in train ¬ ing while there were 235 nominatsd to the Cincinnati Trophy Some New Yorkers will try for these races though there are inviting opportunities offered by the Quesns County Jockey Club at the old Aqueduct courss courssTuesday Tuesday at Aqueduct there will be the first running of the Shevlin Stakes at a mils This is a stake race for threeyearolds with 5000 added and was inaugurated as a memorial to the late president of the Queens County Jockey Club The geldings are not eligible and there were seventyfour nominations These include both Flying Ebony winner of the Kentucky Derby and his stabkmate Coventry which won the Preakness Stakes American Flag winner of both the Withers Stakes and the Belmont Stakes is another eligible as is the Rancocas Stables Silver Fox to say nothing of the many others of the age division that still have championship aspirations Thursday at Aqueduct there will be the As ¬ toria Stakes the fiveeighths sporting stake race for twoyearold fillies Then on Satur ¬ day the two big attractions are the Brookdale Handicap of a mile and an eighth to which 5000 is added and the Great American Stakes for the twoyearolds with 10000 guaranteed guaranteedMad Mad Play sensational winner of the Queans County Handicap on Saturday is in the Brook dale and he is opposed by the best of each eligible age division Sarmaticus is a Great American eligible and he is also opposed by better twoyearelds than he has been calhd upon to meet up to this time Altogether it is a big turf week Trainer Thompson made no mistake at La ¬ tonia Saturday when ho scratched Edward R Bradleys Blockhead a maiden from the race for maidens in order to start him in the rich Harold Stakes It was generally agreed that Blockhead could have beaten the maidens but he could not on public performance be rated up to the stake class But Thompson knew what he was about and the son of Black Toney and Masks and Faces instead of taking down 1100 for Mr Bradley in the maiden offering just earned 8000 in the Harold HaroldIt It was something of an accomplishment for this maiden and he takes new importance among tha twoyearolds It was a speedy band that finished back of him and the victory was a decidedly impressive one oneIt It is noteworthy that of the twelve that started Carl Wiedemans My Colonel was last and Mose Goldblatts Collier next to last This would also tend to demonstrate that it does not do to put too much reliance in winter form My Colonel was rated as the best two yearold that raced at the Miami meeting and Collier raced so impressively at New Orleans that as good a judge as Goldblatt paid a big price for him My Colonel seems to have developed a tem ¬ per that was a serious handicap to his chances He was decidedly fractious at the post and fell in one of his wild lunges while at ttia barrier Both he and Collier were far back all through the race and if that was anything like a real line on their ability it does not say much for winter form Of course both colts have been in training for a long time and it is entirely possible that each will come back with a rest restThe The magnificent race run by Mad Play in the Queens County Handicap Saturday was a vindication of Walter Vosburghs estimate of the swift running son of Fair Play and Madcap MadcapJames James Butlers Sting by his remarkable victories raced his way just about to the top but Mr Vosburgh right up to the running of the Brooklyn Handicap figured Mad Play a better colt True he was only rated a pound better by Mr Vosburgh than Sting Sting by reason of his victory in the Suburban Handicap took up a five pounds penalty that required him to give Mad Play four pounds instead of receiving one from the son cf Fair Play The result was that Mad Play took his measure in the Brcoklyh Handicap easily easilyOf Of course there is an excellent excuse in that Sting went lame in that race and it is not intended to take anything away from the sterling son of Spur and Gnat but the racing has vindicated the Vosburgh estimate of these two high class handicap horses horsesSting Sting was beaten under 127 pounds in the Brooklyn Handicap by Mad Play carrying 123 pounds Mad Play came back in the Queens County Handicap at a mile under 128 pounds and was its winner racing the mile in 136 The time is of little moment but Mad Play conceded a year and twelve pounds to such a horse as Shuffle Along sixteen pounds to Whetstone a year arid eighteen pounds to Cherry Pie twentyone pounds to Klondyke and a year and twenty pounds to Flagstaff FlagstaffMad Mad Play also is credited with carrying a greater weight to victory than had ever been carried by any other Queens County Handi ¬ cap victor Theso are reasons for Mad Play being at the top of the handicap division prom time to time there have been rumors that a system of parimutues would be em pbyed for speculation at the Hawthorne track this year This is absolutely without fpunda tion and it has been repeatedly corrected correctedThere There will be no change in the method of speculation for the coming meeting over that of other meetings It is a system of oral wagering such as prevails at the New York Bourses This method is entirely within the law and the Business Mens Racing Associa ¬ tion has seen to it from the beginning that all these operations continue strictly within the law The effort to have a bill passed that would permit the use of ths parimutuels re ¬ cently failed at Springfield and for that reason there is no opportunity to install the ma ¬ chines at Hawthorne
