view raw text
NO MORE RACING AT OMAHA Meeting Declared Off When Attempt to Have Supreme Court Order Dissolved Fails. - OMAHA, Neb., June 14.— There will be no more racing at Ak-Sar-Ben Field for this year at least. The meeting was officially declared off -Thursday night after the return of Ak-Sar-Ben officers and their attorneys from Lincoln, where they went in an attempt to have the Supreme Court order, which had been used to stop the races, dissolved. The case was argued all day Thursday before five judges and they handed down their decision against pari-mutuela late in the afternoon. T. C. Byrne, vice-president of Ak-Sar-Ben, stated upon his return that the organization could do nothing but call of the present meeting, and they will also be forced to call off the Annual Live Stock Show, which has done so much to advertise Nebraska. Horsemen on Thursday night made an attempt to lease the plant from Ak-Sar-Ben, stating that they would run a betless meeting in hopes that enough fair-minded and sportsmanlike fans would journey through the gate to lend financial aid to the many almost destitute horsemen on the grounds, but officers of Ak-Sar-Ben refused to accede. Many of the owners who have been In Omaha since the close of the Tijuana meeting are in straightened circumstances and are unable to secure transportation and in some instances food for themselves and horses. Their more fortunate brethren were busy securing cars this morning and there was a general exodus from Omaha this afternoon. The Ak-Sar-Ben properties represent an investment of over ,000,000, and unless some plan can be devised to pay the interest on over 00,000 worth of bonds, the association faces bankruptcy. It has been the custom for the past eight years of racing to invest the profits of the pari-mutuels in buildings and other paraphernalia to increase interest in breeding of horses and live-stock in the state and as a result the association has little cash on hand. It is not known what will be done with Ak-Sar-Ben Field, one of the most beautiful race-courses in the West.
