The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-01-12

as the going is all that could be asked
for now on nearly all Of the streets of the
city the sport Is becoming fast and furi-
Gus. There was a time and it was not so
very long ago when Portland street
claimed the attention of all horsemen on
the bright winter afternoons and there,
| in times past might be found assembled
some of the fastest things in harness in
the city when the conditions were all
right. But Portland street is of the past
and its glories for this year, at least, have
departed. The recent alterations which
have been made on thisi thoroughfare
have notsstended to improve it as a racing
stretch and no longer do the horsemen
assemble there for their afternoons of
sport. All eyes are now bent upon the
Western promenade and since the sleig-
ming has become good it is on this wide
boulevard that all the fun is to be found.
| But the Western promenade is not what
1t should be for racing purposes. 1t is
| the best that can be found in Portland
though of course it is being made the
most of on thesebright afternoons by those
flyers or those who delight to hold the
reins over good one when he can do up
anything on the stretch. If the Prom
enade is not tt best place in the world to
start the horses it is not such very bad
place to watch them after they are started,
for here is plenty of room for the specta-
tors to take in all of the fun without
danger to themselves and more than that
the-prospect, when one gets tired of
watching the horses Is about as beautiful
as any which can be found in the country.
But it is not the scenery which at
tracks people to the Western promenade,
though it is always one of the show places
in Portland. The crowd which assemblies
eyerX afternoon about the head of West
and Pine streets have all the amusement
they can reasonably ask for during the
hours between two and five O'Clock, and
one who knows all of the we'll known
men about town will find a large per.
centage of them there to take hand in
or witness the sport. Some Of the gentle
men who make the snow fly on the West.
ern Promenade would be disguised if one
should call them Jockeys" but for all
that the most of them know good thing
in horse flesh when they see it and can
handle fast one as we'll as any of the
professionals. The spectators usually
come in sIeighs and draw up about the
esplande where they sit and watch the
punches go past in furry of snow, but
some of them take the cars or walk to
the spot and these find as much fun in
those who come in fine. turnouts.
1t is early as yet to expect any real good
brushes, but some Of them occurred yes
terday afternoon, and were az exciting
and full of interest to those who knew
the horses or their drivers as are any of
the races at Rigby or other tracks. Some
of the good horses We're not started in real
earnest, but were simply logged back
and forth along the stretch for exercise
with now and then little START up to
show what might be expected of them had
they come out in earnest to make the after |
noon exciting. The drivers of these horses
usually stay around the promenade a
while, just to size upathe crowd and see
what is out Some afternoon in the
future these fast ones will put in their
appearance and then the fun will be red
hot and worth turning out to see.
One of the fastest horses on thes prone |
made yesterday afternoon was G. N.
Trefethen's mare Julia with record of
q 20 IA She was not properly hitched up |
for fast going and many of those who saw |
her out seemed to believe that she was
very easy to distance. But Julia as any |
of those who know her record and have
seen her on the track can tell you, is q |
hard one to beat and her chances OF doing |
something in the future worth talking |
shout are very good. Mr.. Trefethen
picked this mare up two years ago and |
almost at the start began to win races at
the county fairs with her. Last year she
was not started at all, but with the |
coming season Julia will take to the track |
in earnest and then there will be fun, I'M |
less her performances SO far are very de- |
ceptive. Julia can go in fifteen fiat now |
and some think she is faster than this. |
Another one which Mr.. j. W. Trefethen |
had out yesterday and which is owned by |
G. n. Irefethen is Lucky Roy. He has |
a mark of 22l Ia, and was IT winner of |
the best race ever seen on thu track at |
Gorham, (which took seven heats to decide |
the winner. Luck Roy was purchased |
by Mr. Trefethen at Lewiston last sum-
Iner at the Maine State fair. He was then |
lame and his owner thought that his work |
on the track for that season was about |
over. Lucky Boy was entered for two
races at the State fair, and was allowed |
to start in both of them by Mr.. Ire |
fethen. who had just become his owner.
In the first race Lucky Roy picked mp |
second money with ease and in the second |
race landed in third place. Afterwards
at Gorham and Topsham he showed up
well and at the former place won the |
fastest and hardest race of the year.
Lucky Roy is five years old and is in |
letter condition now than ever before. |
He will be heard from next season and |
l, ie nd