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Maywood to Inaugurate Harness Meet Thursday Twenty-Three Trotters Still Eligible for Opening Feature MAYWOOD PARK, Maywood, 111., June 1. — After a lapse of many years harness racing returns to Chicago this Thursday evening when Maywood Park opens its gates for an extended meet under the lights. The trotters and pacers will be in action nightly at this new track from June 6 through July 13, and the stake program, together with the large number of horses already on the grounds, assures interesting contests, falling little if any short of Grand Circuit quality. Many of the important Middle Western stables are now at May-wood, and although the purses and stakes will carry relatively modest values this first season, Chicagons can expect to see some of the best performers in training racing over a strip that horsemen declare to be a very fast piece of dirt. Featuring the opening on Thursday will be the Inaugural — a 2:16 Class Trot with a value of ,500. This stake will be disputed in two dashes — each a distinct race — the first at nine-sixteenths of a mile, and the final at a mile and a sixteenth. Twenty-three trotters are still eligible for the Inaugural, including such prominent campaigners as Cardinal Leeds, a frequent winner at the recent Santa Anita Grand Circuit meeting, the Illinois-owned Refreshment Time, the Baker Acres Stables Earls Spencer Volo, Carl Hatchells Hannah Hanover, the Livingston Stables Polaris, Spencer Look, and Poplar Mite, the last named pair making their 1946 debuts. Friday night will be dedicated to the Free-For-All trotters, and this event appears certain to attract a very select field. Kaola, recent winner of the 0,000 Santa Anita Trotting Derby, is eligible, on the grounds, and training well for owner-driver Carl Hatchell, a mile Friday in 2:13 showing that the Volomite mare did not suffer from her long trip East. For the week-end program, Maywood is offering a very fine card featured by a Free-for-All Pace and a ,000 2:08 Bar Pace entitled the Oak Park. The Free-for-All may well draw a field of exceptional merit, since Kings Counsel, Brown Prince, Senators Sister, Singapore, Anton Lang, Prince Yakima and Volo H., among others, are all on the grounds and all restricted to this type of contest, either by their time records or their past earnings. While 26 sidewheelers are still eligible for the Oak Park, this number is expected to be considerably reduced by post time Saturday night. Poplar McArthur 2:04 from the McGrath — Strethlow stable of Peoria; Tramp Mae Kinney, a roan mare who raced brilliantly on the coast this spring; Colonel Napoleon 2:08%, Junior R., Mankato, Vincent Grattan and Mighty Merry 2:04y2 are probably the most prominent candidates for what should be a closely disputed race.
