Omaha daily bee., 1888-04-29
PREPARING FOR THE RACES,
An Afternoon Among the Flyers at
the Fair Grounds.
THE JOCKEYS ON THE TRACK
Brilliant Prospects For the June
Race Meeting Improving the
Grounds-The Horses Now
in Training.

This has been a great month for jogging
the trottters at the fair grounds course, and
the trainers have been more than thankful
to clerk of the weather. Yesterday after
noon was a delightful one, and the BEE man
paid a visit to the park. The track is in fine
condition, the grass within the quarter
stretch has begun to don its g~reenest hue, and
the buds nave begun to swell and burst,
while the whole field looks bright and at
t~ractive. Work upon the grand stand and
amphitheatre, which is to be a convenient
building 2S0X36 feet, will be commenced by
Contractor Bell Monday morning; also
upon the cattle sheds and barns, and the
floral hall. Piles of lumber loom up against
the summer sky, and all the preparations for
q busy months work are manifest upon all
sides. All the improvements, including the
new fencing, are to be completed by June
5th, and on the 10Th the spring racing meet
will open, and continue throughout the 18th,
four days in all. No little praise is due the
citizens of Omaha for the renewed interest
they are evinciIg in fast and thoroughbred
stock, and within a very few years,
if this advancement continues, the city
will have a name within turf cir
of which she may well be proud. Already il
is a recognized fact that Omaha can boast of
as fine a lot of roasters, promising colts and
handsome turnouts as any city of equal dim
insionS in the whole great west. A success
full spring meet will go farther toward stimu-
lating this emulation in fine horse flesh than
any one other thing that can be mentioned,
and from the outlook the approaching four
days session is going to be an unqualified
triumph, for hOrsemen, spectators and the
management as well. There are at present
at the track the stables of A. j. Poppleton,
A. Thompson, j. H.. and John A. McShane,
Dick Wild. G.. ID. Wyatt, L, r.. Mayne, Al
Tom Gray, d. H, Reynolds, A. Higgins,
John ID. Creighton, Fred Fowler, Mat Will
bur, j.. S. Mccoy and others. In all about
seventy horses are being tracked and gotten
in shape for their early engagements, to
begin with the races here in June. Nc
Coy has in his string Charley McCormick's
b, g. Able, a seven-year old, with a record of
2:24H; Pete Gardner, Fred Fowler's b. e. /;
Hodspike, a large and handsome sorrel geld
ing, with 9 :3418 to his credit; j. H. Nc
and the gray PAGER, st. John, 2;2s19.
He is also handling a dandy little
bay colt, j. W., for DR.. Wertz. Nat
Browns b. g. Trueman Il. is showing up en-
Romeo, a black two year old. Al. McCord's
b, IN. Daisy, is well named, for she is a daisy,
and will be making the quickest of them get
before the season is closed. John ID. Creigh-
ton owns a great little mare in Lulu g. She
is a deep bay, clean limbed and neat as a
steel engraving. His b. s. George Simmons,
is another valuable piece of horse flesh,
whose three year old record is 43M. He was
sired by George Simmons, Sr. he by George
Wilkes. Mat Wilbur is expecting great
things from his b. g, Billy the Kid. He is in
fine form and tracks we'll. In A. Thompson's
stables the handsome bay stallion, Jack
Sheppard, Is a conspicuous figure. Jack is a
grandson of Rysdyke's Hambletonian. Fol
lowing Sheppard comes Ethan Allen, a b. s.
and a grandson Of Old Ethan Allen, with a
record of 3716. Zelda Allen, b. IN. is a very
fast four year old, while his C. m, Betsy
Baker, already has q mark Of 1904.