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DELAWARE PARK DATES Twenty-Five Day Meeting to Be Inaugurated on Saturday, June 26. Program to Include Five Stakes, Each With 0,000 Added, and Two Juvenile Events. WILMINGTON, Del., April 9. Delawares first legalized horse racing under the pari-mutuel system of betting will get-under way on Saturday, June 26, at beautiful New Delaware Park, now nearing completion at Stanton, seven miles south of this city on the Lincoln Highway. Announcement was made today by C. W. Baker, Jr., president of the Delaware Steeplechase and Racing Association, that the initial meeting would be limited to twenty-five days, although the recently amended state law permits thirty days of racing by any one track each year. The program will include seven stake events, five carrying a value of 0,000 and two for two-year-olds worth ,000. The stake events will be run each Saturday, and on July 5 as an Independence Day feature. The date for the seventh has not yet been decided. Sponsors of Delaware Park, including William Du Pont, Jr., master of the Foxcatcher Farms, believe that the rich card will attract the leading stables in the country. A minimum of ,000 has been set for seven races daily, while the eighth on the card will be a daily feature of ,200 value. EASILY ACCESSIBLE. When the barrier is finally sprung, the eyes of the sporting world will focus upon the tiny commonwealth along Delaware Bay. Chiefly of interest to the nation is the proximity of large centers of population and the roads that make the state easy of access. New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington and various New Jersey cities are expected to supply a good crowd of fans when the flags go up. Pennsylvania has no track, nor has New Jersey, and Delaware should entice thousands of fans from outside when it opens for business. Continued on twenty-second page. DELAWARE PARK DATES Continued from first page. The new plant has many innovations and features not to be found at any other track in the country. It is situated on a 365-acre plot and has been beautified by about 14,000 arbor vitae plants, sycamores, maples and heriberous trees, set out about the paddock and grandstand. William Du Pont, Jr., owner of the famed Rosemont, which raced to a crowning victory in the recent Santa Anita Handicap, is a director of the association, which is headed by Charles Baker, Jr., president, and Edward Burke, major domo at Havre de Grace, has been named general manager of the track. Structural steel work on the 30,000 grandstand is advancing at a rapid pace. The stand is 440 feet long and will seat up to 8,000. It is estimated the grandstand and the lawn and adjacent space can care for upward of 30,000 persons. STABLE PRECAUTIONS. Wiring around the stables can be so electrified that an alarm will sound if any one attempts to cross or tamper with it. There will be only two gateways, both guarded. After the crowd departs only one entrance and exit will be available. The importance of this precaution lies in the fact that frequent sponging incidents occurred in Maryland last year. The paddock will have a walking ring similar to Hialeahs. The trainers can saddle their horses within this space, use the stalls a short distance away or follow the Saratoga custom of saddling under the trees. Du Fonts particular pride is the steeplechase course. It was built under the supervision of Mr. Du Pont and Morris Dixon. No definite arrangements have been made for steeplechasing thus far, but it would not be surprising to see the richest brush contest of the year being held at the local track.
