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WAR ADIRALSEABISCUIT MEET TODAY Pimlico Officials Promise Fast Foot ¬ ing for LongAwaited Match Race Handicap Champions Competing for 15000 Prize Prizeand and Trophy Winner Taking All Each Carrying 120 120Pounds Pounds War Admiral Favored by Public BALTIMORE Md Oct 31 The race demanded by American sports enthusiasts for more than a year the clash between Seabiscuit and War Admiral will be held at Pimlico here tomorrow afternoon if nothing un ¬ foreseen happens Both horses were pronounced in complete readiness for their duel as bright sunshine today aided the Maryland Jockey Clubs management in its effort to whip the Pimlico course into tiptop condition while a continuance of fair weather was promised At 830 oclock tomor ¬ row morning Jarvis Spencer Jr chairman of the Maryland State Racing Commission will inspect the track with Charles S Howard owner of Seabiscuit and Samuel D Riddle in whose Glen Riddle silks War Admiral performs and finding it acceptable he will announce that the race definitely will be held The match is scheduled as the Pimlico Special for fora a purse of 15000 the winner to take all It will be over the mile and threesixteenths distance used for the Maryland Jockey Clubs famous fixtures the Preakness Dixie and Riggs with each horse carrying 120 pounds Seabiscuit to be ridden by George Woolf and War Admiral by Charles Kurtsinger both veterans of their profession and experienced in riding in important events eventsTIME TIME OF BIG KACE KACEWith With Spencer approving the conditions the race will be called to the post at about 350 oclock eastern standard time Should rain alter the track the event will be post ¬ poned until Thursday but that is hardly ex ¬ pected In case either horse is withdrawn the other will have a walkover for a 5000 purse and a similar sum posted as a forfeit by the defaulting owner ownerWar War Admiral as he has at all times con ¬ tinues to rule the favorite and it is the gen ¬ eral opinion that he will close at about 1 to 2 in which case Seabiscuits odds will be in the neighborhood of 7 to 5 He has as high as 2 to 1 however in private wagers made here today Mort Mahoney director of mu tuels here believes about 75000 will be wagered through the totalizator on the two horses by a crowd which is expected to rival in size those which gather every spring for the Preakness Extra mutuel windows will be open during the early races for wagering on the match matchHOWARD HOWARD STILL SKEPTICAL SKEPTICALHoward Howard was skeptical today about the track but he was assured by Alfred Van derbilt Pimlico vicepresident whose p fr sonal efforts resulted in the race being factory in every detail should no rain fall Continued on sixteenth page ADMIRALBISCUIT MEET TODAY Continued from first page With the track in good shape this morn ¬ ing but having numerous spots which hadnt dried out as well as the remainder of the course Seabiscuit was opened up a half mile by trainer Tom Smith Brought on the track toward the end of the training period with his stablemate Limpio the fiveyear old son of Hard Tvack and Swing On by Broomstick galloped leisurely around the course and then was sent on his way by Woolf at the halfmile ground groundAs As Limpio went along on the inside Sea biscuit was kept well out from the rail as he went the distance in 49 He was timed the opening furlong in 11 the quarter in 23 and the threeeighths in 36i Woolf kept after him all through the stretch with the result that he drew away from Limpio in the final furlong furlongHaving Having been given a stiff workout Satur ¬ day War Admiral was not asked for speed this morning by trainer George Conway being restricted to a slow gallop around the course after which he was taken into the paddock to be washed and rubbed down downWALKUP WALKUP STAKT STAKTBy By agreement between the two owners the race will be started from a walkup and without use of the Bahr gate James Milton the regular Fimlico starter asked to be re ¬ lieved from officiating for the match and the assignment was given George Cassidy starter at all New York tracks Cassidy will use his own assistants assistantsSeabiscuit Seabiscuit which is aiming for the worlds moneywinning championship held by Sun Beau has 325480 to his credit and victory tomorrow will move him from fifth to sec ¬ ond position Others ahead of him are Equi ¬ poise Phar Lap and Gallant Fox Sun Beaus total is 376744 War Admiral with one less season of campaigning has earned 263800 263800Seabiscuits Seabiscuits start tomorrow will be the eightyfourth of his career He has won thirtyone races finished second a dozen times and third on thirteen occasions In his twentytwo outings War Admiral was victorious in all but four going unplaced only once onceIn In his carefullyplanned campaign War Admiral has raced only in the East except for his conquest of the Kentucky Derby On the other hand Seabiscuit has raced in all parts of the country except the Pacific Northwest and has made six transconti ¬ nental trips tripsWAK WAK ADMIRAL ON RAIL RAILIn In the draw for post positions War Ad ¬ miral drew the rail and judging from con ¬ versations with the rival camps this ar ¬ rangement is exactly what they wished wishedThe The Pimlico Special will feature the open ¬ ing of the Maryland Jockey Clubs autumn meeting of thirteen days A stakeaday pol ¬ icy will be pursued with other important features including the Pimlico Futurity Riggs and Bowie Handicaps and the Bowie BowieSupporting Supporting tomorrows chief attraction will be the Battleship Handicap over the newlyremade steeplechase course the race honoring Mrs Marian du Pont Scotts Grand National winner She will present a trophy to the winner and Vanderbilt will award the prize to the winning matchrace owner The Loch Raven Purse for twoyearolds at six furlongs is another good event on the in ¬ augural program its entrants including Benefactor Time Please On Location and other good youngsters youngstersONE ONE YEARS DIFFERENCE DIFFERENCEWar War Admiral is four years old Seabiscuit five War Admiral is by Man o War Brush up by Sweep Seabiscuit is by Hard Tack Swing On by Whisk Broom II the latter incidentally the horse that holds that two minute record for one mile and a quarter doubtful or otherwise though it may be Hard Tack is a son of Man o War Both will carry 120 pounds Charley Kurtsinger the socalled Flying or Lucky Dutchman will be astride War Admiral George Woolf will guide Seabiscuit SeabiscuitPhysically Physically both horses arc as evenly matched as if those staging the race had selected them with that point in view They are almost identical in height and weight Both stand fifteen hands two inches or a fraction higher and tip the beam just over the thousandpound mark Their weight carrying ability has been tested under fire fireWar War Admiral is the more finished horse of the two in appearance He is one of the most beautiful horses ever to appear in American racing His beauty being al ¬ most feminine is deceptive to those not aware of his racing prowess He is what is known as a seal brown in color running almost to black blackSeabiscuit Seabiscuit is a bay and the more mascu ¬ line appearing horse of the two His tem ¬ perament is also a bit more docile than that of War Admiral and he conserves his nervous energy by acting more gentlemanly at the barrier However with only two horses to align at the gate starter Cassidy should send them away almost immediately a point in War Admirals favor favorBUSY BUSY CAMPAIGNER CAMPAIGNERSeabiscuit Seabiscuit has been the busiest campaign ¬ er of the two As a twoyearold he went to the post thirtyfive times almost double the number of starts in War Admirals entire career Out of the thirtyfive juvenile starts the Howard horse won only five During his entire racing career he has car ¬ ried colors eightythree times in competi ¬ tion and won a total of thirty races while War Admiral has won nineteen out of twentythree starts startsWar War Admiral has been unplaced but once Seabiscuit has finished out of the money in twentyseven races racesOn On October 10 1936 in the Richard John ¬ son Stakes at Laurel the public made War Admiral the favorite but he was beaten by Black Look It was his final juvenile ap ¬ pearance The following season 1937 he came out for a preliminary race in a purse affair at Havre de Grace and the public backed him again This time he obliged winning over threequarters in easy fashion Since that race at Havre de Grace he has been the favorite in every race in which he has started and has never disappointed He has won ten straight races and since that Black Look defeat has never finished behind another horse His triumphs include the Kentucky Derby Preakness Eastern Shore Handicap Belmont Chesapeake Widener Cup Washington Handicap and Pimlico Special in addition to minor purse races racesREMARKABLE REMARKABLE HERFORMANCE HERFORMANCEWar War Admiral has won one race over a mile and a half incidentally equalling the Amer ¬ ican record of 228 for the distance but carrying 126 pounds whereas the coholder of the record Handy Mandy carried only 109 pounds Man o War War Admirals sire held the record before Handy Mandy run ¬ ning the distance in the Jockey Club Stakes at Belmont Park in 1920 in 228 under 118 pounds Three triumphs scored by the Rid ¬ dle star were over the mile and a quarter route the Kentucky Derby Washington Handicap and Widener Cup CupSeabiscuit Seabiscuit on the other hand has never won beyond one mile and threesixteenths He has lost many close races at one mile and a quarter never quite getting up His twin defeats by Rosemont and Stagehand both by nose margins in the rich Santa Anita Handicap have cost him Sun Beaus place in the sun as the worlds greatest money winning horse He lost 90700 when Rosemont beat him and 91450 when Stage ¬ hand outfinished him this year The total amounts involved was 182150 182150HIS HIS FAVORITE DISTANCE DISTANCEJudging Judging by his past record Seabiscuit likes one mile and an eighth He has won twelve races over this route since August 10 1936 not losing a single start over the route On the other hand he lost both those mile and a quarter races in the Santa Anita Handicap and was beaten by Esposa a mare over one mile and fiveeighths in the Bowie Handicap Nov 11 1937 1937A A factor the public may overlook some ¬ thing very much in the Howard horses fa ¬ vor is that after apparently reaching his full development late in his threeyearold i season he became very much of a race horse winning twentyfive of his last forty one races all this under burdensome weights running up to 133 pounds with 130 the com ¬ mon everyday weight piled on him by handi cappers In June of 1936 when he was three Seabiscuit began to really show what he could do and in March of 1937 he was in the 120pound bracket never again carrying weight below that figure figureHOWARD HOWARD WESTERN MAN MANi i Something about the two owners may not I be amiss at this point Charles S Howard owner of Seabiscuit is a San Franciscan FranciscanI founder and owner of the Howard Auto ¬ I mobile Company exclusive agent for Buick automobiles in California He has agencies all over the Golden State In recent years the business has been conducted by his as ¬ sistants Howards wealth is estimated any ¬ where between 20000000 and 50000000 all depending upon the source sourceThe The San Francisco man started from scratch He was a poor boy He opened up a bicycle shop in the Coast city when a youngster then turned to automobiles when that industry began to prosper gathered to ¬ gether enough money to take over a Buick agency and he was on his way to wealth He is considered very democratic and since turning over the business to his assistants to run has become very much interested in horses and horse racing He purchased a ranch in a wild section of northern Califor ¬ nia not far from the town of Willets and has been gradually converting it into a thor ¬ oughbred nursery where Seabiscuit will be premier stallion when his racing days are over overHoward Howard has two sons the oldest Lindsay also deeply interested in racing being a part ¬ ner of Bing Crosby in the ownership of cer ¬ tain horses among them Ligaroti a South American importation importationRIDDLE RIDDLE IMMENSELY WEALTHY WEALTHYSamuel Samuel D Riddle of Philadelphia Pa is among the veteran American turfmen His career because of his racing and ownership of Man o War hardly needs recounting His fortune and that of his wife amassed in textiles when combined has been esti ¬ mated as being near the 50000000 mark Riddle purchased Man o War for 5000 at the Saratoga yearling auction sales of 1918 when August Belmont offered the produce of his famous nursery stud because of his activ ¬ ities in the World War Mr Riddle has re ¬ fused offers up to one million dollars forthe son of Fair Play His stable has never been numerically large but has always been for ¬ midable because of the high quality of its performers Among his star racers have een Crusader American Flag Mars Scapa Flow Edith Cavcll and others besides Man o War and War Admiral
