view raw text
ROWE MEMORIAL BOWIES INAUGURAL HEADLINER Prince Georges Course Offerings Today Attract Big Fields Popular Maryland Track Opens Eastern Racing Season With Nine-Day Meeting Plenty of Horses Available, but Juvenile Colony Is Small BOWIE, Md., March 31. The thoroughbreds are back in Maryland again, with a thousand or so assembled at the local grounds for the nine-day meeting, which gets under way tomorrow afternoon, inaugurating the 1937 turf season in the East. Headlining the initial program is the six furlongs Rowe Memorial, so designated in honor of James Rowe, Sr., and his son, "Young Jimmy," both fine gentlemen and a credit to their profession. Eleven have been entered for this six furlongs dash, which carries an added value of ,000, and tops a card marked by abundant entries in the remaining half a dozen contests. All of which means there are plenty of horses hereabouts, ready for action, thoueh the failure of the half mile juvenile dash to fill suggests a shortage of two-year-olds. It is the first time in the memory of the writer, which runs back to Bowies opening, a couple of decades or so back, there has been such happenings. The skies were bright and sunny at the Prince Georges course this afternoon, suggesting a fast track and perfect conditions for the Inaugural. COME FROM ALL POINTS. The racers now at Bowie come from several parts of the country, including Miami, Santa Anita, New Orleans, Texas, and Hot Springs campaigners, not to mention many which spent the winter months in idleness. All of which promises to be puzzling to form students during the early days of the meeting. The Rowe Memorial, for instance, has attracted Speed to Spare and Weston from Santa Anita; Rudie, Zoic, Mucho Gusto, New Deal, and Vote Boy from Miami; Quincy, Honey Cloud and My Elsie from New Orleans, and Billy Bee from winter quarters. Speed to Spare, a four-time winner at Santa Anita last winter, and a colt capable of travelling three-quarters in better than 1:11, shapes up overnight as the probable choice for the Rowe Memorial. Alfred Vanderbilts representative does not appear severely handicapped with 115 pounds as his portion, and his sprint form since the first of the year shows that he has something of this sort, providing the track remains fast. THREE-YEAR-OLDS NAMED. Rudie, Quincy, Honey Cloud and My Elsie are the four three-year-old entrants to the opening day stake, with the first named appearing spryest of the lot A very fast colt, his Miami endeavors indicate sprinting is his forte. That Jack Campbell thinks well of the son of Reigh Count may be judged from the Continued on twenty-seventh page. ROWE MEMORIAL BOWIES INAUGURAL HEADLINER Continued from first page. fact that he assigned Bill Gallaghers speedster 107 pounds. On the scale he is making concessions to every horse in the race, giving five pounds to Speed to Spare and nine to Mucho Gusto. Quincy, a stablemate of Bright Light who won the 1936 running of "the Rowe, started as recently as Sunday in the mile and a furlong Louisiana Derby, where he straddled one of the stall barriers and was said to have injured himself. His entry would suggest otherwise. If he starts he will be coupled with the Sun Flag filly. My Elsie, which is favored by a feather of ninety-five pounds. Zoic, a vastly improved son of Prince of Wales, is concerned highly by folks who saw him in action at Hialeah Park and Tropical Park. He started as a ,500 plater in Florida in the winter and wound up competing successfully with the best sprinters in training in the far South. WESTONS CHANCES. Guy Bedwell won several races at Santa Anita with Weston, but it is improbable that he can cope successfully at three-quarters of a mile with the leading prospects for this race. Billy Bee, after a winter at Pimlico, is said to have trained in a manner pointing to an excellent first out effort. Tomorrows running of the Rowe Memorial will be the seventh. It started as a seven furlongs test, but after two seasons was cut to three-quarters of a mile. Never has the race been remarkable for speed. Though named for two men who trained for the Whitney family, only one member of that clan has ever won it. This was in 1934, when Soon Over made the accounting for Greentree. There are no Whitney horses in it this season. Post for the first race will be at 2:30 p. m., with the first special leaving from Baltimore at noon, and from Washington at the same time. The "Daily Double" will be on the first and third races.