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JOCKEY ED9IE ARCARO Citations rider Having ridden Whirlaway to vic ¬ tory in the Triple Crown races of 1941 he hopes to accomplish the feat twice having already scored with Citation in the Kentucky Derby HENRY A PARR HI President of ofMaryland Maryland Jockey Club operators of the thehistoric historic Pimiico course Maryland Jockey Clubs Proud Boast Operating Body of Pi ml Leo Is Oldest of Kind in America Tracks Organizing Group Carded Dinner Party Stakes As First Big Event in 1870 1870PIMLICO PIMLICO Baltimore Md May 14 To ¬ morrows renewal of the historic Preakness Stakes will see this second leg in the mythical Triple Crown of American rac ¬ ing run over a track mellowed by tradition and under the auspices of the oldest or ganization of its kindin America and one of the oldest in the world the Maryland Jockey Club ClubThe The Maryland Jockey Club while it has been dormant in some periods is in fact inaugurating its two hundred and fifth year of existence this year Many of the traditions of the original founders of the club still are in existence and hallowed by the process of rigid adherence to them through the span of two centuries centuriesThe The present Pimlico track was first opened in 1870 and was the result of a dinner party at Saratoga in 1868 Among the guests were Oden Bowie governor of Maryland during the war year M H San ford T B Doswell Washington Booth R M Hall C J Foster T S Moore H Price McGrath Charles Reed A Clabagh A M Purdy and others othersThese These men discussed at great length the then current racing situation and finally reached a general agreement that distance events should be encouraged All present subscribed to a race to be known as the Dinner Party Stakes and to be run at a track in Baltimore yet to be built The date was tentatively set for the fall of 1870 pro ¬ viding the track were ready The race ac ¬ tually was run on October 27 1870 and the starters included Sanfords Preakness who won the race raceEventually Eventually Became Dixie Handicap HandicapThe The Dinner Party Stakes eventually be ¬ came the now famed Dixie Handicap one Dl the proudest of stakes on the roster of the Maryland Jockey Club ClubBut But of course the history of the Mary ¬ land Jockey Club goes back much further than this It is a matter of record that when George Washington attended the races of the Maryland Jockey Club in An ¬ napolis in 1762 he entered in his diary traveling expenses and wagering money plus tickets to a ball In 1831 President Andrew Jackson accepted an honorary membership in the Maryland Jockey Club ClubAnother Another facet of the Pimlico history is the much and justly so publicized item that Congress once adjourned to watch the races at Pimlico That was in 1877 1877In In the possession of the Maryland Jockey Club is a reproduction of a sketch of the first known racing trophy in America the Annapolis Subscription Plate run on May 4 1743 at the Maryland Jockey Clubs race course at Annapolis AnnapolisCongress Congress first adjourned to witness the contest between Parole Ten Broeck and Tom Ochiltree That great triangular struggle was to determine supremacy be ¬ tween these three top ranking thorough ¬ breds of that era The race attracted a mge throng according to the records for Kentucky sent a large delegation to wager on Ten Broeck making his first appear ¬ ance in the East aftec establishing his championship claims in the West A spe cial train was run from Washington to accommodate the senators and congress ¬ men Estimates placed the attendance at 20000 a truly sizable gathering for those days Chroniclers of the event say that an atmosphere prevailed like the whirlwind finish of a nationwide political campaign campaignA A heavy rainstorm came up shortly be ¬ fore the race rendering the track quite heavy and the stewards decided to postpone the race but F B Harper with Ten Broeck protested and Pierre Lorillard with Parple paid his entrance fee of 500 to permit the race to continue on schedule scheduleTen Ten Broeck was the favorite and Parole was overlooked in the wagering but Loril ¬ lard and his retinue are said to have ac ¬ cepted all offers and when Parole won they pocketed sizable sums This race incident ¬ ally was at two and a half miles milesIn In tomorrows race much has been made by shallow thinkers of the small field and they say that the prestige of the race is not elevated by a small JTield Well the Mary ¬ land Jockey Club has been faced with that problem before too tooToo Too Good for Others OthersThe The famous Marylandbred Selin was the racing champion of the 1760s and he was so good that in his later years he was ex ¬ cluded from races Owners claimed their horses had no fair chance against a horse termed as being possessed of courage great speed and enduring stamina staminaIt It is only natural with such a glorious history that from year to year the Mary ¬ land Jockey Club has played host to many of the most important horses owners riders and famous personages who like to see fine horse racing The stake programs have been improved through the years according to a definite pattern namely to make the stakes pro ¬ gram of one a day an intergral part of the daily presentations and at the same time offer fine races to all ages and types of horses of both sexes sexesThe The ancient landscape has been modern ¬ ized from time totime without impairing the charm of the surroundings The most modern racing protractive devices are in use and the racing is as modern as tomor ¬ row yet withal retaining the Background of tradition which has made Pimlico a bit different than anywhere else in America AmericaThe The Maryland Jockey Club has never compromised its principles through the years of making its main objective the of ¬ fering of fine racing with the horse and his welfare having first consideration in all deliberations deliberationsIncidentally Incidentally officers of the Maryland Jockey Club wear distinctive pins first known to be used in 1830 These pins spell out MJC but the M is made by a combi ¬ nation of two stirrups and webbing the J by a riding whip and the C by a spur It is one of the most artistic pins ever de ¬ signed The name of the designer has been lost in antiquity
