New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-04-12

Dy oxuberant rain. But 90 the hour ap
preached for the first race, the weather be
came moro encouraging. 1t was slight,
cloudy, with alterations Of sunshine; bu
the only effect Of the previous rain upol
the course was the heaviness Of the track
As this impeachment, however, bore equal,
on all the horses, the difficulty was merely
comparative. and the races were as inter
esting as it was possible for races to be.
At the ringing of the bell for the hurdle
race the horses were brought up all in fine
condition. So far as we could ascertain
Chickasaw was largely the favorite, while
Beacon stood second best in the estimation
of the knowing ones. At the tap of the
drum the nags all started with a little irreg
ularlty which, however, seemed soon to reg
ulate itself. There was little in the race
either romantic OF exciting, every rider
guiding his horse skillfully, while the nags
took each successive hurdle horsefully; the
only exception was Virgil, who, probably
from absence of mind, Numbered tremei
dously at one of the hurdles, the rider
coming near losing his seat. He hung on,
however, and notwithstanding this baulk
Virgil was third at the termination OF the
contest. The horses came to the winning
| post in the following order: Beacon, Chai-
mette, Virgil. Tanglefoot, Israel, Ch;cka-
saw. Time, 1858. The race was for two
miles, over eight hurdles, horses to carry
twenty pounds over regular weight
Club purse, $3.50.
| During the interval between the hurdle
race and the one that followed, we took
occasion to observe tho ground, and note
the assembly. In regard to the appearance
Of things in general, we are impelled to say
that too much credit can not be accorded
to Mr.. w. N. Conner, the secretary of the
Netairie Club, for the intelligent and
thorough manner in which the duties of his
position are performed. The company was
greatly in excess Of the attendance on
Saturday. The ladies' department. was we'll
filled, and the humber Of vehicles in attend
ance verN large indeed. We need hardly
add that the attendance of members and Of
those interested in hOrsefesh was also We. y
full.
The signal bell for the second race was
now runy. There were nine entries, but
the whole interest of the race was centred
in Col'sican, johnson, Style and WOODBURY.,
the remainder being Withdrawn. The race
was one and quarter mile dash, club purse
800. There was more regularity in the
starting of this race than the preceding, and
there was nothing of the startling and but Lit
tie Of the exciting in it's incidents. The naes
ing order: C0rsican first, winning by q neck
ahead Of johnson, who was second: Style
third, and WOodburn fourth. Time 2:llA.
Although q hurdle race is conceded to be
an exciting affair, We have observed that it
is not much in favor with many veteran
hOrsemen and men Of the course 1t may
be that nag which in a straight stretch
would be nowhere, may, by the Interrupt
ton of the hurdle, have an advantage
which he could never obtain where the cor
test depends upon straight forward spe,
upon wind and bottom. 1t must be con-
ceded, however, that grave and honorable
authorities in the sporting world take a
decidedly opposite view Of the question,
and it must be observed also, that this
latter class are generally known to control
horses of unrivaled speed, limb and wind.
things, there was no difference of opinion
about the third race, the sugar race of
the day.
1t did not seem, at first sight, to be "any
great shakes" for there were but three
horses entered-Alaska, Pilgrim and De-
fender. AS the bell rang they all came up
toward the string, evidently in splendid con-
away they sprang, Pilgrim taking the lead
This did not last long. for. they had not
reached the first half mile before Defender
was up with him, and they run neck and
neck pretty much the first mile, coming IA
Defender first, Pilgrim second and Alaska
third. At the end of the first heat they
came to the string in the same order. Time. |
3:4lA.
During the interval between the first and |
the second heat bets were freely exchanged, |
and it was not easy to decide which was the |
favorite, as it lay between Defender and |
Pilgrim, the latter being slightly the. IA |
vOrite, although it is difficult to say why.
When the thirty minutes had expired the |
second heat commenced. 1t was soon seen |
that the race was between Defender and
Pilgrim: As they reached the end of the
first mile Defender was ahead, Pilgrim
second, and Alaska somewhere behind.
During the second and last mile Of the
heat the excitement among the spectators
grew intense. As the two foremost nags
rounded toward the judges stand the two
foremost flor Alaska was too far behind to
be anywhere) appeared to pass and repass
each other, and it was not until very near
the winning post that any surmise could be
hazarded. Then it became evident that
Defender was and would keep ahead. So it
was, for he came under the string half
The summary appended to this report, in
accordance with the above, makes De-
fender the winner. So everybody appeared
to think, and losers were busy for while
III ''1OrkluS Jill " WAuuOAc' fooAAO tiWO |
after the report spread that the race had
been decided by the judges in favor of Pill
grim, Defender having been ruled out on
the charge of foul riding on the part Of his
jockey, the jockey being fined ten dollars.
We do not pretend to pass any opinion as
to the merits of this dispute. The judges
are gentlemen whose knowledge in these
matters and their desire to do justice to all
can not be disputed. But it can not be de-
MED that the decision was unexpected and
to large portion of those on
the ground who had witnessed the contest.
We report this merely as a matter Of news,
it beyond our province to
record any surmise in case of the merits
If which we have ne sufficient data.
Summary.
FIRST RACE-HURDLES.
1. B. Foley enters b. h. Beacon, y. o.. sire
Lexington. dam Sovereign. ...........>... L
|. Keene Richards enters br b. Chalmette, Sy.
O., sire Daniel Boone, dam Brown Dck...:.-
/. w. Swigert enters bl. b. Virgil, y. o., sire
Vandal, dam Hymenia. ............:.......
}. A. Wilson enters James Connor's bh. c, Tan
glefOOt, y. O.. sire Captain Beard, dam
Prunela. ..........: $3.50. C.;
sire Pedigree, dam unknown. .............
ohm Orchard enters Chickasaw, y. o., sire
Bleak Wind, dam Albion. ..................
Time: $685.
SECOND IRACE-DASH IN MILE.