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HIRSCH STARTED AT HAVANA Arrived at Cuban Track a Novice Now Famous Trainer. History of Beautiful Island Track ReviewedInitial Meeting Staged Back In 1915 Brown Builder. HAVANA, Cuba, Nov. 24. Hirsch Jacobs got his horse-training baptism, or start, in the stable area of Oriental Park. The sensational New York conditioner of thoroughbreds, who has been leading trainer in winners-driven-in since 1933, and who at this writing is trying to reach 100 for 1938, came to the land of manana in company with Charley Ferrero, an American who owned a string of horses many years ago. Little did Jacobs dream back in 1915 or thereabouts that some day hed be hailed as No. 1 horse trainer. AI Livingston, one of H. D. Curley Browns buddies, recalls the first time Jacob3 set foot on Cuban soil. "I remember him as a good observer," said Livingston while cutting up some old touches with Albert Levey, president of the Havana-American Racing Asociation, which is sponsoring the 1939 winter meeting here, beginning January 12 and winding up March 12. Livingston continued: "Jacobs studied the horses intently and made mental notes. Like a wise old owl he listened and said nothing. Mose Goldblatt chaperoned him around the various stalls, and I can still see Hirsch peeking in here and there to get hip to things, as it were. I said then to myself heres a guy wholl make good as a horse trainer if he decides to become one. I learned Hirsch originally was a trainer of pigeons. He appeared to be a hard worker and he didnt like or want to gamble. How could a fellow like him miss? Thats why he has made a success of his chosen vocation." BEAUTIFUL LAND. To be exact, Christopher Columbus discovered Cuba 446 years ago. His immortal words, when he sighted the Pearl of the Antilles, were: "The most beautiful land that human eyes have ever seen." The old boy said a mouthful. The population today is four milliions. Cuba is built on coral. "Curley" Brown, one of the greatest sports characters in history and a promotional genius, opened Oriental Park for the edification of turf enthusiasts on January 14, 1915, and it continued to April 5. The first winner was a horse named Frill ridden by McDermott. His closing odds were 3 to 2. There were five starters in the initial event. The track was heavy and the weather clear. The biggest money winner that year was H. G. Bedwell with his Brave Cunarder. On the afternoon of the last day of the meeting, the late Jack Curley staged the Jess Wil-lard-Jack Johnson heavyweight championship tilt. Immediately after Mr. Johnson was counted out in the twenty-sixth round, Brown ordered the running of the regular program of races. The last event was run under big arc lights, and the winner turned up in Sir Fretful. In 1920 a 0,000 stake event was seen. The track, stables, Jockey Club, grandstand and clubhouse are built on 160 acres of ground. In 1923 some exciting auto races were held on the track. Levey may revive the event which he hopes will duplicate the Indianapolis classic. BROWN SAW POSSIBILITIES. It was in 1913 that Brown first saw the ! possibilities of winter racing in Cuba. He spent a couple of million erecting the plant. 1 John McGraw and Charlie Stoneham of the ; New York Giants purchased the property from Brown. A man named Balay Ballard j took it from the baseball moguls, and Brown, who in the meantime had built Arlington Park in Chicago, returned to Ma- rianao to hold sway for another year. Then l the famous combination of John Bowman and Charley Flynn took hold and ruled su- preme for several years. When they passed . to the Great Beyond, a Cuban syndicate seized the property. Last year Lou Smith, i of Broadway and Boston, Mass., attempted to bring the track back to its former glory but he couldnt make a go of it. But a progressive New Yorker, if we may repeat his name, Albert Levey, visualized big things, for he is a born gambler, and ; he lost no time contracting both the track and Casino Nacional for a six-year lease. 1 Now everything is hunky-dory. Cuban 1 sportsmen are with Levey to a man. They t envisage a tremendous season, what with the record-wrecking number of tourists coming here, and a new deal on horses. l Levey has promised the Cubans 700 Amer-l ican steeds, which will be a sight for sore - eyes. The new promoter is remodeling both enterprises, at the cost of 50,000, in addi-t tion to the erection of 500 new stalls. All 1 hes waiting for now is the sound of the ; first bugle.
