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Here and There on the Turf Maryland Spring Racing Canadian Season Opening Woodbine Steeplechasing Thoroughbred Prices The Maryland spring racing season will come io an end with the decision of Thursdays pro ¬ gram at Pimlico All three of the spring meetings in that state have met with unquali ¬ fied success Attendance figures at Bowie Havre de Grace and Pimlico have reached new high levels and the quality of the sport has been excellent throughout throughoutThe The horses which campaign on the Maryland tracks spring and fall always scatter widely for the summer campaign This year they will scatter more widely than usual In addition to the usual shipments to New York and Canada there will be consignments for Fair mount Park at Collinsville 111 Aurora III and also the Kentucky tracks There were a number of shipments planned to Maple Heights but the forced cancellation of that meeting has made it necessary for these stables to seek other fields of endeavor One of the reasons for Marylands popularity as a racing center is the fact that horses from so many sections arc attracted by its meetings New York Kentucky and Canada have their own established clienteles among the stables From the beginning of the racing season in each of these sections to the end there are compara ¬ tively few additions or desertions on the part of the stables that follow these circuits But Maryland tracks are the battle ground of New York stables Canadian stables and others from Kentucky and the Middle West WestThis This condition makes for diversified racing in Maryland Form is hard to follow at times particularly early in the campaign because of the fact that horses are brought together in the various races that have never previously raced against each other and the results of their clashing are frequently unexpected for the same reason But all of this really adds to the public interest in the racing racingThe The Pimlico meeting is the high point of the Maryland spring campaign because of the fact that the Manland Jockey Clubs big stake races the Preakness Stakes and the Dixie Handicap attract many of the best horses in the country This year has been no exception The Dixie Handicap attracted a notable field this year and the Preakness Stakes also drew a number of the leading threeyearolds to the post The Canadian campaign will open May 22 at Woodbine Park Toronto when the Ontario Jockey Club throws open the gates of the his ¬ toric old course for its annual spring meet ¬ ing The Woodbine Park meeting always brings a class of racing which is not approached by any other course in the dominion The number of rich stakes scheduled for decision and the high level at which purses are main ¬ tained at Woodbine Park arc the explanation explanationThe The powerful stables that campaign on New York tracks always send divisions to Wood ¬ bine Park to meet stake engagements and these combine with the best horses in Canada to raise the sport there to an exceptionally high standard standardThe The Ontario Jockey Club has always paid particular attention to steeplechasing and as usual this spring will offer a crosscountry race every day during the meeting Steeple ¬ chase enthusiasts travel to Toronto from many sections of this country each year to see the excellent crosscountry contests provided there The prices realized at the dispersal of the Williams Brothers horses at Douglas Park last Friday are an indication of the present strength of the thoroughbred market There were no real topnotchers in the number offered at auction and yet a total of 155000 was realized for seventyfour head headNocturnal Nocturnal a Derby candidate brought 11000 He is not generally considered a par ¬ ticularly dangerous candidate for the big race but stranger things than a victory for this colt in the Churchill Downs feature have happened in the past If he should win W E Caskey Jr his purchaser would realize a quick and handsome return on his investment investmentThe The high prices now being paid for thor ¬ oughbreds in this country are an excellent thing for the breeding industry and for others who have horses to sell The high level main ¬ tained by the market however is not such a wonderful thing for those who wish to re ¬ plenish their stables or enter the sport for the first time timeOne One veteran turfman who has been away from racing for some time recently set out to gather a stable for the purpose of reentering the sport He made many efforts to buy horses but found prices so high that he finally gave it up upI I can buy a plater that would have sold for 500 ten years ago for about 7500 now he is quoted as saying In order to win a half tlozen claiming races around New York this summer I would have to invest more money than I could win back in purses in three years I think Ill just watch them run for a while instead
