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SPORTSMANS PARK POLICY To Provide Sufficient Number of Races at Longer Distances Than Usual Sprinting Dashes. CICERO, 111., Oct 8. Adhering to a policy under which horses capable of performing effectually over the longer distances are catered to, the National Jockey Club hopes to open its eighteen-day meeting here at Sportsmans Park with a program in which route runners will contest three of the eight races next Monday. These are the third, seventh and eighth events on the inaugural card. The former two will be decided at a mile and seventy yards each, while the mile and a sixteenth distance will prevail for the closing contest . Other races on Mondays program will be contested at distances from five furlongs to seven-eighths of a mile. Two-year-olds accepting for the Inaugural Purse, one of the days features, will match strides over six and a -half furlongs, while the same distance will be negotiated by older performers that start in the Columbus Day Purse. The latter race will be endowed with a purse of 00, while the value of the Inaugural will be ?100 less. A goodly number of the best two-year-olds in the stables awaiting the meeting are prospective starters in the Inaugural, according to Robert S. Shelley, racing secretary and general manager. He also anticipates a strong field from among the older racers for the co-feature, which is fashioned for three-year-olds and upward. With a field for the first race reaching the post at 2 oclock, patrons of Sportsmans Park may count on being able to see the entire program and reach their homes in time for early dinner. John Pat-ton, secretary and treasurer of the National Jockey Club, and Shelley have worked out a schedule under which the eight races will be run off in three hours time, barring, of course, unforeseen delays. With the continued arrival of horses, training activities picked up perceptibly this morning. The track is in excellent condition, thanks to the efforts of track superintendent Billy Myers, who has been busy for weeks putting the racing strip in order.
