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ILLINOIS RACING SEASON OPENS AT AURORA » • • Exposition Park Scene of First 1927 Meeting in This Locality • Great Concourse of Chicago Devotees of the Sport Expected to Witness Opening Program — Today9 s Entries Fill Well ♦ • AURORA, 111., April 20. — On the eve of the 1927 Chicago racing season, to be inaugurated Thursday afternoon at Exposition Park, the popular Fox River Valley course was a busy scene of last minute completion of preparations for the opening of the scheduled thirty-five day meeting. The busiest spot on the grounds was the racing secretarys office, where stewards Martin Nathanson and C. F. Henry were busily engaged handling a dearth of late applications for trainer and jockey licenses. The other officials, judges C. Campeau. R. A. Leigh, Francis Dunne and Charles L. Trimble, found all their moments absorbed in attending to the wants and needs of the horsemen requiring 5 fulfillment of their badge allotments and to accepting the entries of their charges for the opening days events. Incidentally, the program of races arranged for the first day of the sport comprises one of the leading offerings put forth at the Aurora course in some time. Liberal response was forthcoming from representatives of the various racing establishments anxious to be numbered among the opening days contestants, resulting in large and well balanced fields in six of the seven events. This was a welcome condition, observing the extremely heavy going which exists on tin-racing strip proper, caused by the torrential rains which have visited these parts the past week, when the precipitation was twice normal. However, no delay or backwardness on the part of the horsemen to enter their charges was experienced and everything proceeded rapidly and in fine manner from that quarter. BETTER CLASS OF HORSES. More and a better class of performers are scattered liberally among the entries and there will be nothing wanting in the way of high class racing for the inaugural day. The Aurora Inaugural Handicap is Hie principal contest carded, an affair for thr.e-year-olds and over at the five and a half furlongs distance. Seven are expected to accept, including Iron Mask II., Glenister II . Sanola. Seths Hope. Bolton. AH Haba and Theo. Fay. The horses will be called to the post for the first event at 2:15 p. m. The registered jockey colony at Aurora numbers fifty-three and it is expected that the number of registered riders will mount to nearly seventy-five within the first few days of the meeting. Jockey W. Boganowski drove in from Louisville. He will ride free lance The track was closed to all regular training operations again today and all workouts were confined to galloping on the neighboring roads and slow works around the outside half of the racing strip. Toward mid-afternoon today, the track at Kxposition Park wa.s rapidly drying out and with a possible continuation of the ideal weather prevailing, should quickly attain its best condition, but will hardly be termed better than heavy opening day. A. Bordeau, who has been acting as mm of the private detectives around the New Orleans and Ohio tracks, has brain -bed out as Continued on twelfth page AURORAS OPENING TODAY I Conl i n tied from first PWJ I an owner. He has the useful Glib in his. stable. Bordeau is doing his own training. I F. J. Baker, the veteran rider, was an arrival i and is in condition to don the silks I i i:n mediately. He can do 105 pounds. Jockey 11. Long was a recent arrival from j i N«-w Irleans. 1 .l Fountain, wh s.- fatner , trained th.- C. E. Durnell horses at New Orleans, is handling his book. Longs best riding w.-ght is Ml pounds I Jockey W. P.owd.-n. the Idaho boy, was another arrival. He is under contract to ; Bert John. ! J.xkey Tommy Boot was an arrival from j Tijuana. B. F. McClain. Jr., has his contract, j J. J. Greeley was an arrival from Kentucky. ] ! His horses have been quartered at Aurora j | the past two weeks. The good stake horse j : Devon heads the stable. Greeley purchased Pomegranate from the Greentr.e Stable before leaving New Orleans. Others making up his stable are : Anita M , Col. Schooler and j I Wild Francis.
