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Here and There oh the Turf Failmount Opening Suburban Weights Aurora Poisoning Case New Railroad Ruling Saturday marks the opening of another race meeting when the meeting of the Fairmount Jockey Club at Collinsville 111 will begin This is the second meeting of the Fanmount Jockey Club and it returns the sport to St Louis from where Collinsville receives most of its patronage patronageThis This association came into being last year and with Col Matt Winn directing its destinies it was a success from the beginning and in the face of decidedly unfavorable weather condi ¬ tions Since that meeting much has been done to improve and complete the course until it is now one of the most modern in the country and with the improvement of the rac ¬ ing grounds there came an ambitious program of races for the second meeting meetingFor For the opening feature the big offering is the Collinsville Handicap at threequarters to which 5000 is added For a considerable time horses have been arriving at the track and the entries for the first day of the meeting tell eloquently of the material on hand The offerings are such as attract the good horses and it is a notable widening of the turf horizon horizonThe The new meeting is to continue until July 5 thirtytwo days of racing and besides the Collinsville Handicap there will be decided four other races with 5000 added to each as well as the Fainnount Derby at a mile and a quarter to which 25000 is added Among the notable nominees to this Derby are Bub ¬ bling Over winner of the Kentucky Derby Haste winner of the Withers Stakes Display winner of the Preakness Stakes Rapture win ¬ ner of the Pimlico Oaks Carlaris winner of the Tijuana Derby and the Coffroth Handicap early in the year Others are Pompey Black Maria Navigator Canter Bagenbaggage Ni chavo Rock Man Macaw and Blondin Alto ¬ gether the list of Fairmount Derby eligibles is virtually a roster of all of the great threeyear olds of the year There is always an abundance of interest in the announcement of the weights for the Su ¬ burban Handicap This year the great old mile and a quarter race is to be decided at Belmont Park on June 5 and the weight as ¬ signments by Walter S Yosburgh gives prom ¬ ise that it will furnish an excellent renewal renewalIt It is natural that Sarazen should be at the lop of the handicap with 128 pounds as his impost His victory in the Dixie Handicap at Pimlico early in the month earned him such a place But it is American Flag that is second on the list under 124 pounds That impost is surety figured from his racing of last year when he so brilliantly earned the championship In his only race this year he could not be so high in the handicap That one race saw him utterlj beaten in a three quarters dash Mr Vosburgh has not taken that race seriously He has evidently come to the conclusion that American Flag was not ready and of course in fixing handicap weights it must be presumed that a horse is ready The mile and a quarter is a distance more to the liking of American Flag than is threequarters when he is ready and if that first outing has improved his condition suffi ¬ ciently he will surely run a better race in the Suburban Handicap should he be sent to the post postSilver Silver Fox was in receipt of eight pounds from American Flag in that race The gray horse was its winner with the Riddle cham ¬ pion last In the Suburban Handicap Ameri ¬ can Flag is asked to give Silver Fox four pounds but it would seem that American Flag is better qualified to give away weight at a mile and a quarter than over the threequarters distance And there is interest in the assign ¬ ments to the threeyearolds This age divi ¬ sion is headed by Display winner of the Preakness Stakes and Rock Man which fin ¬ ished third in the Kentucky Derby These colts are handicapped at 10S pounds each while H P Whitneys Macaw is required to shoulder 107 pounds and Pompey has been dropped down to 106 pounds That is the present Vosburgh estimate of the trio of three yearolds mentioned over the mile and a quarter distance distanceIt It is not known that any of these eligibles mentioned will be sent to the post with the possible exception of Silver Fox but a com ¬ parison of the weights is worth while showing the estimates of Mr Vosburgh The news of the wholesale poisoning of horses at the Aurora track is greatly to be regretted and it again emphasizes the impor ¬ tance of having a race course just as carefully policed at night as it is in daytime when racing is under way wayThere There is no such a thing as locking up a race course when the racing of the afternoon has been completed and too often the owners themselves do not show a proper vigilance in having their horses protected in the stable In almost every case of dope poisoning or night riding a proper investigation will reveal either an inside job or gross negligence on the part of some one about the stable stableNo No well conducted stable should be BO utterly without guards that it is possible for vandals to tamper with the horses It should be impossible for anyone to come under the1 shed of a racing stable unknown to those whose duty it is fo care for the horses But i there are small stables where it is well nigh impossible to keep a constant watch over the horses and for these little fellows it would be well if every racing association employed a considerable number of night watchmen whose duty it would be to guard against just such happenings as well as guard against fires firesThe The prompt reporting of the poisoning cases prevented the vandalism from reaping the har ¬ vest that was undoubtedly planned The de ¬ claring off of the race to which the poisoned horses were elegible was the right thing to do and Clifford Trimble is to be congratulated on his prompt action actionThe The excellent work of the detectives em ¬ ployed by the racing association in appre ¬ hending several of the culprits so soon after the discovery of their criminal acts is to be highly commended Relentless prosecution of these men is to be expected It is essential that they should be severely punished not alone because of their own dastardly offenses but to deter any other criminals from emulat ¬ ing these vicious sneaks sneaksBut But with all the vigilance what is needed on all race courses is a careful policing of the grounds and particularly the stables The rac ¬ ing crowd is proverbially an orderly crowd and it is about the stables that a greater vigilance is needed neededJune June 29 there will be a hearing on the pro ¬ posed changes in the regulation of the shipment of race horses Testimony and arguments will be made on behalf of the horsemen seeking to set aside the proposed rule that after October 5 only two men will be permitted for each car of thoroughbred horses This rule has ob ¬ tained west of the Mississippi but it has been ruled that the same regulation is to apply east of the Mississippi MississippiIn In the fight to oppose the operation of this rule the Miami Jockey Club has been largely working on its own hook but it is also being opposed along the same lines by the Thorough ¬ bred Horse Association This is a matter of great interest to shippers of horses not only thoroughbreds and with a concerted effort to show the Interstate Commerce Commission that the imposition of the new rule would work a real hardship it is hoped that there will be an amendment to the regulation before the date for its being put into operation falls due dueIt It has been pointed out that two men are not sufficient o care for a carload of valuable t animals in transit and eye y endeavor will be j made to convince the commission of that fact
