view raw text
THEYRE OFF AT FAIRMOUNT PARK TODAY i , . i Thirty-Seven Days Meeting to Be Inaugurated Under Favorable Auspices ♦ Better Class of Horses Available for the Racing — Beauty of Plant Greatly Enhanced ~ Track in Fine Condition ♦ COLLINSVILLE, 111., May 25. — The Fairmount Park meeting of thirty-seven days will be inaugurated tomorrow and present indications are that it will surpass any of the five previous ones that have been conducted over this course. Local interest is manifestly much greater in the coming racing than that which has been shown previously. The barometer in this respect is the greater number 9 • of club memberships for this season and the total of box reservations. On the list of club membership is enrolled some of the most prominent in the social roster of St. Louis and adjacent communities. In the aggregate there are much better class horses to engage in the racing than at previous meetings. Such well-known owners as E. B. McLean, J. E. HVidener, Alexander Pantages, Burton and Ward, R. S. Clark, H. P. Headley, G. W. Loft, Wiliiam Maher, The Audley Farm Stable, E. K. Bryson, G. C. Collins, H. G. Bedwell, S. Peabody, C. A. Coyle, G. H. Collins, P. Reuter. S. H. Velie and Senator M. E. Casey will have expensive representation during the meeting. During the period intervening since the last meeting, Fairmount Park has undergone a considerable beautifying process and has also been considerably altered. The club house has been made more commodious and the improvements instituted have made this ex-elusive section one of the best modeled club houses in the country. The track proper, already regarded as one of the best racing strips in the country, has also received much attention during the period of idleness, and it is now regarded by horsemen as comparing favorably with the best in the country. With everything spic and span and in thorough readiness for the opening, time is being marked by the horsemen and large staff of employes connected with the management. At present close to 600 horses are on the grounds and auditions continue to arrive steadily. It is expected that Tuesday will find the full complement of 750 stalls occupied. The inaugural feature is the Collinsville Handicap of ,000 added, and a dozen are listed to engage in it. The band of prospective starters include some sprinting stars that have won with regularity at other courses. Six other races at diversified distances and engaging some well known racers surround the feature and should serve as a magnet to Continued on twentieth page. THEYRE OFF AT FAIRMOUNT Continued from first page. bring to the course a record* opening day attendance. Interest in the Fairmount Derby, which is scheduled for decision on June 2, is mounting steadily and bids fair to be a contest that will absorb attention second only to that of the Kentucky Derby. According to authoritative advices, Misstep, Toro, Jack Higgins, the trio that finished, respectively, second, third and fourth in the big Louisville fixture, are already here or on their way to engage in the race. Additionally there are Bobashela, Dodgson, Colonel Shaw and Alexander Pantages certain to be among the starters. Alexander Pantages finished fourth in the Coffroth Handicap and is here from Tijuana to match strides with three-year-olds of these parts. Another that missed an opportunity to race in the Kentucky Derby and which has been pointed particularly with a view to his start in the Fairmount Derby is Gallahad II. This three-year-old was held to be the superior of Jack Higgins in New Orleans and met some bad racing luck when pitted against Jack Higgins in the Louisiana Derby. He has had a long rest and his owners feel sanguine that he will hold hi* own with the best of them. A good bit of anti-post belting is being indulged in on the race and the prices at present on a play-or-pay basis against the probable starters follow: Misstep, 4 to 1 ; Toro, Solace, Bobashela and Jack Higgins, 6 to 1 each ; Galahad II. and Lawley, 10 to 1 each ; the others range in price from 15 to 1 to 1.000 to 1. The general impression prevails that there will be at least ten starters in the Derby. The race is endowed with 5,000 added, and usually goes considerably over this sura as the winners net share. Joseph A. Murphy, who will serve as one of the stewards, has been active during the last few days going over the license list and granting permission to trainers and riders to ply their vocations here. The licenses will have to be ratified by the Illinois Turf Association license committee. The members comprising this committee will meet in headquarters of the association in Chicago next Sunday. Managing director Matt J. Winn has been here for several days observing details attaching to the opening and like C. Bruce Head, is optimistic of the success of the impending meeting. The racing will begin daily at 2 p. m., and afford ample time for the St. Louis patrons to be back in the Mound City at a convenient dinner hour. Fairmount Park is situated about eight miles from St. Louis and is accessible by many methods of transportation, including trolley and bus lines. «
