view raw text
t t Here and There on the Turf . Good Laurel Meeting Expected Stakes Have Been Increased Seabiscuit in Two Events -Jacola Misses Her Chance for Banking ....... ..4 wSffnerpermrttihg, much fine racing1 may be expected during the next five weeks at Laurel, the lone Maryland track staging its meeting all at one time. Beginning with the Capital Handicap as the inaugural feature today, Laurel will present an unusually welI- balanced stakes program to which more money is being added this year than has been the case for a long period. Judging by the results of the Havre de Grace meeting, where pleasing sport was the order, the Maryland State Fair course will do about as well as it did last autumn. However, it had more than an ordinary amount of bad weather and with a better break in this respect, the course presided over by Frank J. Brady should have a pleasing increase in its patronage. Washington, as usual, will be giving it substantial support. The calibre of horses nominated to the ten stakes, the field for todays running of the Capital being a worthy example, suggests thrilling renewals of these fixtures. Most prominent and important of the events are the Selima Stakes and Washington Handicap arid frequently the former is not only the richest affair in the country for two-year-old fillies, but is called upon to decide the championship of this division as it did last year when Jacola was triumphant. The Selima has 0,000 in added money and usually pays its winner more than twice as much. Laurel endows the Washington with 5,000 and should attract one of the best fields in its history. War Admiral, its winner last fall, is not eligible, but Seabiscuit definitely is intended for the mile and one-quarter race scheduled for closing day, October 29. In addition to the Capital Handicap, two other stakes with ,500 are on the program and one of them, the Laurel, at one mile, also is expected to attract Seabiscuit. The Maryland Handicap, the remaining affair at this value, is for three-year-olds over the Continued on thirty-second page. HERE AND THERE ON THE TURF Continued from second page. mile and a quarter route. All of the remaining features have ,000 in added money, with the exception of the Governor Ogle Steeplechase, whose purse is ,500. The late closing juvenile stakes, the Richard Johnson and Spalding Lowe Jenkins have drawn large entry lists, including many of the better youngsters. Volitant, which gave El Chico such a scare in the Junior Champion, is eligible to both, as are JSenefactor, Yale o Nine and Time Alone and others of similar ability, and so these events may attract even better fields than usual. Just what sort of opposition will be mustered against Seabiscuit in the Washington probably wont be determined until about a week before the race or perhaps until John P. Turner issues his weights for the mile and a quarter race. Among the more prominent of the remaining eligibles are Esposa, Isolater, Thanksgiving, Nedayr, Aneroid, Cravat and Marica. Most of the leading three-year-olds in the Maryland, including Stagehand, but that colt has been put away for the season, so the field probably will include such as Fighting Fox, Handcuff, Bull Lea, Thanksgiving, Jacola, Nedayr, Great Union, Cravat, Purple King, Magic Hour and Stormscud. Milky Way Farms Dinner .Date appears a stand-out in the Selima, with Ciencia not eligible, but the Maryland Futurity appears a wide open affair. The Chevy Chase and Ogle Steeplechases also possess unusually strong entry lists. Jacola, which was prevented from making an early campaign this season because of bad ankles, had a swell chance in the Ladies Handicap Wednesday to place herself in a very high position among the fillies and mares but she wasnt quite equal to the task. However, the performance of the three-year-old daughter of Jacopo and La France was very creditable as she had up 117 pounds, one over scale, and she was beaten only by Idle Miss, which has been a good four-year-old filly all season. Behind her were numerous other tough members of the division, including Handcuff, generally regarded as the best three-year-old of her sex. Now doubt exists that Handcuff is better than Jacola although a race over a greater distance than a mile would be required to decide the matter. Jacola had only one previous outing of the season which she won by running the mile in 1:36, but that effort might have been a bit too much and dulled her speed in the Ladies Handicap.
