The herald., 1897-10-25


There will be little if any, difficulty in
securing entries from the best horses in
the state, as the meeting which closed
Saturday was conducted in such man
ner that all Of the horsemen were more
than satisfied. Some of them, the purse
takers. were gratified. but even the few
who did not come within the money in
any of the races knew that the associa-
ton had done all that could be done to
give their horses the best of accommo-
dations 1t is true that the stables were
crowded, but then the presence of so
many animals at the track was not ex-
pected. At the next fall meeting there
Will be no trouble on this score, for it is
the intention Of the association to in
crease its stable room at once, so that
accommodation sufficient for at least
half as many more horses will be had
There were nearly five hundred f1isrs
there during the past two weeks OF
course all of them were not entered in
the races, but with the stables were
brought along many youngsters and
others not in condition.
1t is undoubtedly true that there was
more than one attempt at crooked work.
but what meeting of nine days was ever
held at which no such attempts occur
red? 1t is. perhaps also true that there
were transactions of a questionable
character which have never come to
light. but in regard to them ignorance IS
bliss.
There was no fault to be found with
the general quality of the sport fur
nished, and that it was appreciated. was
evident from the continued good attend
ance. On only one day was the attend
ance less than the third best day of last
years meeting, and Saturday night week
saw nearly two thousand more people
than had been there on the best day of
last year. There were, of course, the
usual growls made by portions Of the
crowd. because this or that arrangement
was not made to their fancy, but, on the
whole, those who witnessed. the races
were satisfied with them.
1t was a book-makers' meeting in
every sense of the word for the favorites
won thrice to where a long shot captured"
any money. In only few races were
there any winnings by horses against
which long odds had hesn laid. If there
was no other indication of the success OF
the bookies, the presence throughout the
meeting is proof enough that their ven-
ture in Los Angeles paid them. Eleven
books did business on all but one day Of
the meeting. and on that day there were
nine in the ring. How much of the
good, hard cash of the Los Angeles peo-
pie these bettors carried away with them
will never be known, but certain it is
that it was a goodly sum. So far as is
known, there, was a total absence OF
Killings" and one reason for this was
that there was no plunging. The pres
ence of SO many books gave to the public
better odds than they could have had
had there been but few, for the rivalry
among the book-makers was even more
intense than among the horSemen. The
experiment made by the association of
taking care of the booking business it.
self instead Of letting out the betting
privilege to the highest bidder, was such
a success that it Will be followed at all
future meetings.
The performance of Searchlight Sat-
urday in pacing mile in 2:061s, or, offic-
tally, 2:07, was the most wonderful feat
ever witnessed in a 3-year-old, and be-
fore the animal reaches his fourth year it
is predicted that he will have even a
lower mark. Thomas Keating, his own
er, was one of the most successful men
who attended the mt meeting, hav-
ing captured three of the most import
ant purses as we'll as several place di-
visions of the money.
II the success Of the meeting which
closed Saturday can be attributed to the
efforts of any one man more than an
other, that man is Benjamin Benjamin.
Benny is we'll known ir. Los Angeles and
his work for the success of the meeting
was such that there was no delay in
the races no kicking among the horse
men as to the weights assigned their
entries and no detail of his la bors, which
were at times onerous was neglected.
He goes from here to San Francisco to
"do" the races for the Chronicle. The
men who occupied the press box are
especially grateful to him for the valu-
able assistance he rendered them.
Entries for the winter and spring
meeting Of the California Jockey club
will close November 10. The stakes are
among the most liberal ever offered in
the state. The leading event will be the
Burns handicap for purse of $4,000,
OF which $4,000 goes to second and $1,000
to third. The total value Of the stake
IL $4,000.
4 \ 4
The next racing in the vicinity Of this
city which will attract attention through
this part of the state will take place in
connection with the annual Orange
county fair at Santa Ana. Most of the
races will be harness events and the
chief Of these will be the free-for-all
pace, in which Searchlight and Silkwood
are among the entries.
\ \ \
Notwithsta riding the peculiar state Of
affairs in New Orleans just at this time,
President Charles Bush states positive
" that the winter meeting Of the Cres-
cent City Jockey club will begin as ad-
vertised, on November Is, and continue
over 100 days. For the earlier portion of
the meeting the stakes siavr already
been arranged. For the latter part of
the gathering another list Of stakes will
be formulated. The racing of 2-year-
olds will begin early in January, 1898.
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