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WEIGHT THE BIG QUESTION What Will Handicappers Assign Sea-biscuit in Big Winter Fixtures? Owner C. S. Howard Reserving Decision to Start His Champion Until List of Weights Are Published. ARCADIA, Calif., Dec. 14. What will Webb Everett ask Americas champion thoroughbred, Seabiscuit, to pack in the Santa Anita Handicap, and what will Charles Mc. Lennan assign the pride of California and the nation in the Widener Challenge Cup? That is the question uppermost in the minds of racing fans everywhere today. On the weight allotments may depend the choice of a scene of action for the big horse this winter. For, in the event the champions handlers should be more pleased with one than the other, they might be swayed to plan their campaign accordingly. Charlie Howard is a loyal Californian and would like nothing better than to win the greater prize, a feat his horse failed to accomplish on two occasions, missing by a nose each time. On the other hand, the only two top-flight horses in America which have not been named for the Santa Anita Handicap are War Admiral and Lawrin. Stagehand is eligible to both races. Both are considered sure starters in the Florida special. Some eastern critics alibied for War Admiral when Seabiscuit took his measure in the big match. So a second defeat of the Riddle horse would please Howard. Likewise the San Franciscan no doubt would be tickled pink if his horse would reverse the decision on Stagehand, which was recently voted the best three-year-old of the year. And he would like to make a clean sweep by defeating last years Kentucky Derby winner. SCALE WEIGHT 129 POUNDS. Scale weight for Seabiscuit and War Admiral in March will be 129 pounds, and for Stagehand and Lawrin 123 pounds. So far as the 00,000 race is concerned, Seabiscuit may be asked to carry about three pounds over scale, with the Earl Sande-trained colt packing his scale, or one pound over. In the Florida race the weights for Sea-biscuit and Stagehand will likely approximate those for the Santa Anita. War Admiral may be expected to receive around the scale, which also goes for Lawrin. Incidentally, Lawrin defeated Stagehand at Churchill Downs before the running of the Kentucky Derby, but at that time Stagehand was admittedly not himself. He had suffered a slight attack of fever, Whatever weight is assigned those four big horses, it may probably be enough to prevent them from winning. For be it known that no highweight horse has ever succeeded in winning the Santa Anita Handicap. And on only one occasion was the Widener won by a highwei ht. That was last winter when War Admiral galloped home in front. The stars of the turf which will fill the public eye two or three months before the races are scheduled to be run have almost invariably wound up in the ruck with lightweight horses finishing one, two, three. And history may more than likely repeat itself next March 4. TOUGH ON TOP WEIGHTS. This defeat of the highweight horses is always to be expected. For the noted racers have earned their fame during the season past by exhibiting their utmost in speed and stamina. They already have shown their ultimate powers. Their zenith has been reached. And they are handicapped on the basis of that peak. On the other hand, the up-and-coming younger stars are still developing. Although the handicapper is keenly aware of this fact, he is bound to disregard the element of probable improvement. His duty is to handicap the nominees solely on the basis of actual past performances. It follows naturally, therefore, that Everett and McLennan will assign poundage to a dozen or more two-, three- and four-yearrolds which are still on the upgrade, and that two or three of these will have developed into stars of the first magnitude by the time the big classics are to be run. Such horses as Thanksgiving, Cravat, Lig-aroti, Magic Hour, Ossabaw, War Minstrel, Time Alone, Xalapa Clown, Porters Mite, Main Man, Impound, Pasteurized and Sorte-ado are in this group which may be expected to improve a few or many pounds within the next three months. But we can expect Seabiscuit and War Admiral, which will be six- and five-year-olds, respectively, when the race is run, to improve materially over what they have already shown and on which they must be handicapped.
