The times., 1897-04-17
OPENING DAY At BENNING
The Card for the Day Well
Filled.
BETTORS AND BCOKMAKERS
Fine Horses ard Big FfsIds All
That l. Needed Is Bright Sur
Racing i'll the East-Entries for
the Day and Times Tips,

The season Of legitimate racing in the
East will be inauguraJed at Benning to-
day, and the only thing needed to make
the opening meeting a great success is
good weather There are plenty of horses
to contest for the stake and purse events,
and the class Of the contestants will be
first Iate The grand stand, clubhouse and
fences nave all been newly painted and
the tender green OF new turf and budding
trees VIII lena a beautiful and appropriate
setting TO The spring bCnnetS and dresses
which Washington beauties viii surely dis
play in honor of the popular jockey club.
The club has made a game uphill fight
ever since the first meeting under the
present management and every lover Of
fine horse flesh and pluck hopes for a de
gree OF financial success commensurate
with the racing success that the efforts of
the Washington Jockey club have assured
for the spring meeting of 1897.
Nothing has been left undone- Stake
events well worth winning 10y any stable
and liberal purses are Offered to attract
the owners, while hurdle races and Steeple-
chases are plentifully interspersed to draw
the Washington crowd, which. masculine
and feminine, can always be depended on
for plenty Of good sporting blood
1t is a pity that the local authorities
in charge have assumed that the proper
tlme to fix the road leading to the rae"
track Is Immediately preceding the meet
ing This assumption has induced them 70
cover it with carloads Of soft earth dur
ing the past few days, and heavy driving.
with deep dust or deep mud 10 choose
between. according to the weather, viii be
our lot.
About hotel lobbies last night many of
the regulars were on hand. Matte Corbett
and j j. Mcguire We're at the Shoreham,
as was also Robert Pinkerton, whom the
Jockey Club employs to attend all meet
ings held under its direction, to see that
none Of the public money gets into any
hands but the booknakcrs' who are prop
crly entitled TO it. George Wheelock, who
remembers Washington very well, since
he stood in the ring last fall and saw Ire
margo, on whom he had So 600 at / to !,
left at the post, and Sol Lichenstein are
at the Arlington. Sam Doggett got in
about 9 o. clock and went to the Raleigh.
where NJ Dwyer arrived hv later train.
Doggett looks tanned and well and is
evidently at his usual professional weight.
Orlando Jones and Dave Gideon were eN-
pected at the Cochran but had not arrived
at q late hour.
The meeting, which opens today, viii
last until next Saturday, giving seven
DAYS racing. Each day there will be
run stake event worth from 500 10
81 200, and either a hurdle race or steeple
chase Starting viii be by the machine
and the wcll-tried Pettingill will officiate
at the barrier. Clarence Mcdowell viii
be presiding Judge and S. S. Rowland and
Jesse Brown, stewards. The death OF
Thomas Draney last week left a vacancy
In the office of clerk of the course aud
81. G. CuCkman will officiate. Horses will
be called to the post at 315 each day
for the first race. There are about 800
horses at the track. Most of them make
their first start this season at Benning,
but there are several which have been
earning oats at New Orleans and in the
past horses of this class have always been
formidable, as their condition is usually
excellent.
Among these, Rcagan's two-year-old,
Sly Fox, has shown stake form, having
twice beaten Van Antwerp, the New Or
leans champion twO-year-old which re-
Gently beat all the crack youngsters at
Newport.
OF the jockeys, Sims win be absent, as
he viii continue to ride at the Western
meetings for some weeks. Doggett, O'Leary,
Hamilton, Littlefield, Coyle and Powers viii
be seen In the saddle here, possibly Taral
also.
The card for today has filled well and
good contests are assured in nearly every
race Most interest centerS in the Airing
ton Stakes, for two-year-olds, in which
seven are carded TO start. Such fine re-
ports have come from waIdens stable
that their filly, Juda, by Brittanicimp.
Judy, is most in favor as the winner. De-
oanter has many believers and Water Crest
is not without following. The hurdle
event is supposed 10 be between Thackeray
and Forget.
Betting will be carried on as heretofore,
hut the passing of money will probably be
Two years ago r. J. Warren, a druggist