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EARLY SUBURBAN WINNERS General Monroe Winner of Inau ¬ gural Becomes Selling Plater Salvator Greatest Race Horse of His Time Takes 1S90 Renewal Hamapos Subur ¬ ban Ulagniiiccnt Spectacle The great fourmile contests that electri ¬ fied previous generations of American turf followers have forever passed away In place of them as measures for stimulating popular interest in racing contests and for affording to owners and breeders those sub ¬ stantial financial encouragements by which alone the turf can be kept alive have been substituted scores of stakes and purse events that are not less interesting as tests of powers than those older events and more valuable from the money point of view viewTo To a large extent the history of contem ¬ poraneous racing in the closing part of the nineteenth century has centered around them Many of them have become historic and are looked forward to every season with the highest expectation Their records have added many notable pages to the annals of the American turf turfAn An enumeration and review of all these events that have particularly distinguished and made brilliant the American turf of the present period would alone fill several vol CONTESTS ARE WELL KXOAVX KXOAVXThe The names and character of these races have become familiar as household words to every one interested in the slightest de ¬ gree in racing matters While there arc other stakes that have a longer history than the Suburban this important stake has al ¬ ways commanded the entries of the best horses and the event has always been a sub ¬ ject of widespred discussion discussionThe The Suburban was established in 1884 by the Coney Island Jockey Club It is a han ¬ dicap for threeyearolds and over The en ¬ tries have often run up to seventyfive and a hundred and even more The Suburban distance is one and a quarter miles milesIn In the first running of the Suburban E J McElmeels General Monroe carried off the prize General Monroe was not a great race horse but stanch and game and his suc ¬ cess in the race was due to a fortunate com ¬ bination of circumstances rather than to his own conspicuous merit In after years he failed to hold the reputation that he had secured as a Suburban winner finally be ¬ coming a selling plater and falling victim to a bullet that was put through his head to relieve him from the consequences of a broken leg legA A popular and wellmerited victory in the Suburban was that of Pierre Lorillards Pon tiac in the second year of the fixture 1885 Pontiac was an English norse although he was foaled in America As a yearling he was taken back to England and added to Mr Lorillards stable but made no particu ¬ lar impression upon the turf there and at the end of his threeyearold form was brought back to this country There was nothing in his first performances on the turf here to make him a promising Suburban starter Nevertheless he won in handsome style de ¬ feating the favorite Monogram which went to the post at 2Vi to 1 in a field of fifteen Pontiacs victory was a most decisive one and he cantered home far ahead of the entire field while Monogram never had any chance whatever whatever186C 186C SUKU111JAX WAS SENSATIONAL SENSATIONALThe The Suburban in 1SSC was a sensational affair Public interest was concentrated largely upon Jim Guest which belonged to Captain Samuel Brown of Pittsburg The same stable was also represented by Trou ¬ badour which was so poorly thought of that in the winter betting 100 to 1 was freely offered against him Before he came to the post however there was an awakening on the part of the talent and he started a strong second favorite to Lizzize Dwyer at 4 to 1 Edward Corrigan owned Lizzie Dwyer which stood favorite up to the last moment at 3 to 1 and it was said at the time that she started with more wagered on her chance than any animal ever in the his ¬ tory of the American turf turfThe The day before the race Troubadour ran the Suburban distance with full weight up in the phenomenal time of 2074 When the flag dropped at the start he was off first and had the race won before he had passed out of the first quarter mile mileThe The Suburban in 18S7 was in all respects a failure The horses that started were of an ordinary character and none of them was in form to assure particularly inter ¬ esting sport Eurus which won was from the stable of A J Cassatt and had never had the reputation of being a horse which could be depended upon He could run well when he was so disposed and again would absolutely refuse to budge After his death it was discovered that he had been suffer ¬ ing with a tumor for years which fact probably accounted for the eccentricities that had characterized his turf career careerAMUSING AMUSING FEATURE IN 18S7 18S7There There were some rather amusing features in the Suburban that he won The favorite Richmond which started at 2 to 1 had no show whatever for the race while Quito which was a good second favorite and Ben All also strongly backed were never in it at all being left standing at the post postThe The Suburban of 1S88 was won by Elk wood halfbrother of Eurus Elkwood was a rank outsider in the betting even his owner Walter Grata declining to back him And yet he made a splendid finish winning the race by a bond from Terra Cotta which had run in hard luck and was pocketed around nearly the entire course courseAVhen AVhen the Suburban of 1SS9 was called only nine of the entries started and none of these was a horse of great merit August Belmonts Racehind was an easy winner and his victory was popular Terra Cotta again ran second with Gorgo third thirdSalvator Salvator which won the Suburban of 1S90 was the greatest race horse that has been on the American turf in the closing decade of the nineteenth century The son of Prince Charlie his reputation is scarcely second perhaps even to such great turf idols as Lexington Lecomtc Iroquois and others which have held first place in public esti ¬ mation and admiration admirationIn In his two and in his threeyearold form he was sometimes defeated by such horses as Longstrect and Proctor Knott but despite these reverses he showed a form when he was in condition that was little short of marvelous and that endeared him to every ¬ body bodyOnly Only nine horses started in this Subur ¬ ban but among them were such cracks as Salvator Tenny Firenze Raceland Prince Royal and Longstrect Salvator was the favorite He carried 127 pounds and came in a good winner after a gallant light that lasted from start to finish finishFully Fully thirty thousand people saw Salva tors great victory and it was as was truly said at the time the first time the event offered a contest worthy of the pride of place accorded to it as the leading classical feature of the American turf turfThree Three rank outsiders came in first second and third in the Suburban of 1891 with Loantaka at the head The odds were 25 to 1 against Loantaka It was said his owner David McCoun would never have started him but for the strenuous insistence of his jockey Martin Bergen who believed that he had a good fighting chance chanceMontana Montana ridden by Snapper Garrison came in at the head of the field in 1802 a victory that was extremely popular In that race Lamplighter which was third ran a great race being beaten only by a neck for first honors In 1S93 I implighter was the favorite for the great handicap which looked like a foregone certainty for him Again however he ran third the race going to Lowlander an outsider which was how ¬ ever looked upon with a slight degree of expectancy expectancyRAMAlOS RAMAlOS PERFORMANCE BRILLIANT BRILLIANTRamapos Ramapos Suburban of 1S94 was one oC the most brilliant performances that had ever distinguished the event There were twelve starters the winner being a strong favorite at 8 to 5 In the field were such cracks as Sir AValter Henry of Navarre Banquet and Pickpocket stars of the first magnitude in the equine world and yet not ¬ withstanding the noble character of his oppo ¬ nents Ramapo was easily the best horse in the race raceThe The race was a magnificent spectacle from htart to finish and when Rarnapo flashed by the stand in 2OG1 the enthusiasm knew no restraint He beat the time made by the famous and popular Salvator the win faster than Lowlander which came in af the head of the field in 1SU3
