Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-07-07
The minnesota Circuit.

Saturday night saw the closing heat Of the
last event in the four days of races, trotting
and running, given at the st. Paul Driving
park last week. The daily
reports of the GLOBE nwere full
and fair, but a general review of the meet
ing, with the presentation of some facts and
general conclusions, is needed to make the
story complete, and that praise and blame may
attach where they belong.
In the first place, then, it may be stated the
meeting, while the entries were fairly good in
numbers aud excellent in quality, was not a f.
nancial success. For this there were a num-
Der of reasons which, mentioned in tho order
of their bearing, are as follows:
THE MANAGEMENT.
In the first place, the meeting though held
on the st. Paul Driving park was in no sense
q. st. Paul undertaking., the
st. Paul association simply donating the use of
their grounds. 1t was given by the
Minnesota Stock Breeders association. differed
by VIM. S. King, president. II. Barden, treas
urer and d. s. Woodmansee, secretary, Mr..
King and Woodmansee being residents of Min
neapolis, and interested, especially the first
named, in building up Minneapolis over St.
Paul as the turf center of the State
! liz SpCOh DlCCuCIS ASSOCldIlUu, LOT
reasons not now necessary to state
in detail does not stand we'll with horsemen or
patrons of turf sports in st. Paul. In fact it
is, as an association, in decided bad odor, and
therefore the meeting under its auspices lacked
from the first that great essential for success.
the
SYMPATHY AND GOOD WISHES
of the people of the city in which
it was given. Add to this the fact
that Bill King, the President of the
association, gave the meeting the cold shoulder,
never even visiting the grounds but once du-
ring the four days, and then making himself
generally disagreeable by his sneering ks
about the attendance, ETC.. and one cause of
the failure is made plain. 1t should be stated
here that Mr.. Barden and Mr.. Woodmansee
both were untiring in their efforts to make tho
meeting success, the former especially labor
ing with a zeal and determination, and to the
detriment of his private business, worthy a
better return. W. are thus particular in stat
ing the auspices under which the races were held
for the beneftlof horse owners from abroad
who feel agrieved at some things which occur
red, and which will be mentioned further
along, so that they may render "under Caesar
tho things that are Casar's," and neither give
the people of st. Paul either praise or blame
where they are not entitled to it.
BAD WEATHER.
Another reason for the failure was unfavor-
able weather. On the first day the sky was
overcast with clouds threatening rain, a pre-
monition that was fulfilled by slight showers
in the afternoon, and during the night by the
sevcrest storm visiting this section in the
recollection of the oldest inhabitant. The
fall of water was simply terrible. 1t flooded
everything, including the track, and no one in
tho succeeding fore part of the day supposed
the races could go on. About noon, however,
it was decided to go ahead, but, was 10 be ex-
pected, there was no attendance. The next
day was the Fourth. All railroads lc ding
into the city were INSTRUCTED, so that the cuun-
try surroundin conld add no pleasure seekers,
while large numbers of st. Paul people had
other engagements of a social and society
character, SO that tho attendance while good
was not jam. Saturday was the extra day,
for postponed events, never very largely at
tended. Add to this the CLOUDS threatening
the minds of the people, and the small atten-
dance on that day Is easily accounted for.
QUALITY OF THE RACING.
The races generally were interesting, thu ugh
two or three of them could have been better if
the reins used by some of the drivers had not
been quite so strong. As a rule, however, the
being changed, that for Ella Earl. The
meeting was also characterized
by gentemanly conduct on the part of the
drivers, the judges rot finding it necessary
to rive even q reprimand much less impose q
fine.
PROVOKING DELAYS.
The most serious drawback to the enjoyment
of the races, aud one that had its effect upon
the attendance and the general interest, was
the delays in starting the various events. On
the first day it was O clock before the horses
were sent off for the first event, and almost if
not quite as late ON Friday and Saturday
Such annoying delays will always OCCUR when
the judges are picked cut hap hazard and
changed from day to-day. Take an incident
of Saturday to illustrate this point. Three
gentlemen were called upon to act as Judges
who had no expectation of so acting, and who
we're not impressed into service until past the
time the races should have been started. On
the programme was four events, trotting in
the 81 class at the head. That class was
called and the drivers of the 4-year olds mott
fed to have their animals ready 80 their lace
could be sandwiched with the 237. The 2:37
heat trotted the colts were called, when the
judges discovered that the ages of the entries
had not been passed upon. A committee was
hastily appointed, by which the examination
was made and the entries reported all right.
After the committee report had been made the
judges ascertained that they had based their
that p' colt is is four Ee'" years Ps'"'' old
until he is in fact, and not that the first of
January marks the age in such cases; that is,
II an animal was past years old January last,
such animal was ineligible to the race. So
another examination had to be made and al
together an hour was consumed in this BUSH
ness all of which should have been set tied be-
fore he colts were called upon the track. The
judges were not responsible for the delay, be-
cause until they went into the stand a few
minutes before they knew nothing of the pro-
gramme. And such delays will always oc-
cur where the Judges are changed
about. To make a racing meeting a success
one set of judges must serve all through, and
then the races must be called promptly and
rushed through, keeping one event following
another in rapid succession. That keeps up
the interest, and will draw people when the
long waits will drive them away.
THE JUDGES,
the past week, did the best they could prob
ably, under the circumstances. At least no
one doubts they tried to do exact and even
justice to all. That they made mistakes is
very probable. The GLOBE thinks they did in
two instances, VIZ: in setting Capt. Herod back
of Frank Fisk in the $3.50 race Friday and in not
setting Col. King back in the last heat of the
237 race, Saturday. But in both these cases
there was ground for an honest difference
OF opinion, and the GLOBE recognizes the
right and the duty of the judges to decide
the matter as they saw it, instead of as the
GLOBE saw it.
LITTLE BAD BLOOD.
The only approach to bad feeling occurred
just before the meeting was brought to close
when the judges in behalf of the association
announced that the ~ running dash and the
trotting in the 1928 class were off" The
owners in these races claimed the association
were bound under the rules to put the races on
if not Saturday q. some later day, the right
given the association to declare races off wher