The morning call., 1894-12-24
Opinions of Horsen1an
Ed Corrigan.
THE BEST MAY COME HERE.
Already California Can Summon
Some Great Horses.
HE BEST MAY COME HERE.
MIGHTY HURON SOON TO BE seer
General Hints on the King of Sports
by One of Its Best Known
DevoteeS.

LIZ SUIIlBdu, tuo pODulal HU1SCiuul
from Chicago, who is located in this city
for the winter racing season, thinks that
there is no reason why sport should not be
as good on this coast as anywhere else in
the United States.
''Fhe track here is so bau," he MUIR
INJURED plain lively yesterday. ''lf it were
not for that the racing would be as good
here as anywhere else. But such natur-
ally muddy track | never saw. 1t is very
bad just at present. but we get good racing
here for all that. There are plenty of
good horses here, and the purses offered
are as good as can be had in any winter
racing city. Naturally they do not come
up to the summer attractions. but of all
places | know of to race during the winter
San Francisco is the best.
''Pve some good horses here myself.
I've forty of them altogether: some
good, some rather bad. l ran one the
other day in a purse race on Bay District
track, a horse that used to be as good as
a three-year-old. He won up to July of
this year no less than $1S,372 in the first,
second and third moneys. On, yes; you
can bet that there are some middling high
class horses here.
There is absolutely no reason in the
WUIiu why DdJ DlSItICO 6uUulu uDb ste lU6
highest class horses in the world. Abso-
lutely no reason. I've got another good
one here that l didn't tell you about. 1t is
Senator Irby. He won $1,000 in stakes
this year before he came here, and since
his arrival he has won a stake once and
two handicaps. There are plenty of
common horses here, plenty OF good ones.
One of my horses that have here made
mile recently in l min. 80 sec. Pretty
good time. isn't t?'
The great horseman was asked why the
riding tactics of jockeys as used here dit
fered so much from those used In the East.
Why did the lads use whip and spur so
much, for instance?
Il guess they can't help it on a track
like this" answered Mr.. Corrigan. "They
have TO avoid the mud that wo1ld splash
in their and their horses faces. I've seen
many horse blinded by mud and water.
Many q horse gropes his way through it
like blind man and it takes a stout
hearted animal to stand the test A weak
horse will feel discouraged and not try as
hard as he would with all things favor
able
what do you con sider to be the reason
that Eastern hOrsemen do not send their
best horses here, Mr.. Corrigan ?"
"Well, | guess horse runs best on his
own track, and a man is most success
full there, too. Eastern sportsmen think 1t
easier game to beat us in their own coun-
try than to come tn the West and win our
races from us. But, for all that, they
show want of sense. We have here the
finest climate in the world: there is sui
ficiently big racing season to make it
worth an owners while TO send the best
OF his string here, and, as l before stated,
the purses given here are better than those
offered IN any winter racing city, and the
trip across the desert is mere nothing
nowadays. | cannot see why the very best
hnre1c frainpd in the III Olto6 Statnc nt
TO be seen daily at our racetrack here dur
ing the winter"
Mr.. CorrIgan has great raceh0rse in his
string here, horse that has not been seen
on any track for more than one year past.
The horse is the five-year-old Huron, who
proved the most formidable antagonist to
His Highness IN the Futurity stakes, run
at Sheepshead Bay in August, 1891. On
that occasion, it will be remembered, the
stewards f0rb ade Huron TO run, owing to q
dispute concerning his nomination. Mr..
C0rrigan had purchased the horse as
yearling, and. as he claimed. with his en-
gagement. But by some means the horse
was struck out of engagements. though n OF
with the authority of Corrigan.
Corrlgan produced an affidavit from the
breeder of The animal, to the effect that his
nominations stood for all events, but the
race stewards decided that the horse was
disqualified Corrigan, however, deter
edict. and start he did. Huron had no
place on the betting lists. "The bookies
were afraid my horse would @in," said
Mr.. CorrigaD, 'and they determined to
| prevent my backing him." But Ed Corri-
gan ran his horse in spite of all, deter
mined that the question of his Qualifica-
ton should be properly settled by law.
| In the great race Huron was ridden by a
c0lored jockey named Overton. The lad
got off badly in big field, whereas Jimmy
| McLauGhllD. on His Highness, had all the
! best of the going. There was a distance
| of several lengths between tina pair for
| half the journey. but in the end His High
ness was ridden out to beat Huron a neck.
! Huron was Immediately disQua lifted by
| the stewards, however. and Yorkshire Bell
placed second. with Dagonet third.
Huron ran with varying success after
that. a little over a year ago he ran
second in a big handicap. carrying the
! phenomenal weight of f53 pounds. On that
occasion he pulled up lame. aud il was
subsequently found that he had broken a
| tendon. Mr.. Corrigan had the horse fired
and he recovered. but he has not run since.
he will run, however. at Bay District as
/ soon as the weather improves.
The question was asked of Mr.. Corrigan
yesterday by an interested listener !:
What do you think of the selling-race
system as carried on here? Is there anv
| check upon an owner VINO enters a $4,000
| animal 10 be sold for S500?"
"Oh. no." replied the horseman. s'You
see, we have not the claiming system they
i practice elsewhere. But, as the books are
not very big here, and as half the selling
! price margin goes TO the second horse,
according 10 universal custom, I guess
owners have to keep pretty we'll within
| bounds"
THE REpTI, ON cVCTEM