Omaha daily bee., 1898-07-31
With HORSES AND HORsEMEN
Klatnvvnh's Great Performance nt
Peoria One of the Features OF
the Turf History.

Peoria One of the Features OF
the Turf History.
The most notable performance OF the year.
so far on the t~rotting turf, and indeed of
any year. was that OF the 3-year-old pacing
stallion Klatawah at Peoria recently. Klata-
wah was a good colt last year. had won
some notable races in the western circuit
this season, but certainly the harness horse
admiring public was hardly prepared to hear
OF such a marvellous exhibition of speed and
stamina as he gave on the occasion referred
to. He started In the 2:16 pace, in which
he had fifteen aged competitors, among them
being Redinda, 2:09A. and other notable
performers. He stepped to the front the
first heat in 2:07&, a worlds record for g.
year-olds in a race, and IL was of course
not expected that he could come back in
anything like so fast time. He gathered in
the second heat in ;09, also a worlds rec
ord; but these two fast heats seemed to but
round out his racing condition, for In the
third heat he astonished the whole horse
world by stepping to a record of 2:06h,
beating the former worlds record for s.
year-old PAGERS three full seconds. The sea-
son OF the year considered this is the great
est achievement of any harness horse to date
and stamps Mr.. Keating's colt the champion
Of all harness performers. Klatawah is a
substantial looking bay colt, given in the
year book as by Steinway. 2:25%, dam Kate
G dam Of Charles Derby, 2:20), by Elec-
%tioneer; second dam Fanny Malone grand
dam of Maud C, 2:15, etc., by Niagara. He
was bred by John F. Boyd, Danville, Cal,
and as a 2-year-old took a record of 2:1S15
at Oakland, Cal. He carries n good per
cent of thoroughbred blood and of course the
thoroughbred blood in the %trotter" advo-
Gates will find much satisfaction in his per-
Torrance. Thoroughbred or %trotting bred
he Is entitled to the first rank among har-
ness performers, age and the time of the
year considered. No little credit is also due
the Peoria track, which by all honest critics
will be accorded a rating along with the
finest and fastest in the land.
The light harness world seems to be on
the verge of q transformation in the pro-
gram Of meets. This prospective change
Is an outgrowth over the necessity of max
ing the racing a financial success without
placing all the expense on the owners or
drivers. Five per cent entrance fee and
8 per cent additional from the winners Is a
loser for the promoters in the big majority
Of cases, because ordinarily the entries are
not sufficient, while the owners hesitate to
take chances in paying 10 per cent. In
view of these facts the promoters have to
look to the attendance to get som Of the
money. The problem, therefore, is to get
the people out in greater numbers than at
present. The time-honored style of best
three in five heats, with chances of being
prolonged by splitting up, makes the spec
tators weary before the races are finished.
In a word, more ginger and dash must be
put in; novelties might be q good definition
of the need. 1t has been suggested that
the races should be three heats, winner of
each heat to be paid off and sent to the
barn. Mile, mile and a half and even two
mile dashes, handicap races and other events
of this character might also be successfully
employed. A start in this direction has
already been made, for on the coast dash
races have been very successful, while the
handicap races at Hartford proved to be at
%tractive.
How easily a horse can be converted from
one gait to another is shown in the case of
the trotter Genta, 2:31k, a brown gelding,
5 years old, by Quartermaster, dam by
Hannis, now being handled by John Reamer
at the Belmont track. Until June q Genta
knew nothing but the trotting gait. Or that
day Reamer had his ten-ounce shoes taken
off and a set of just half the weight substi-
'utcu' Ii tutu nt Sllppeu on Il pair or
hopples. He logged the horse three days on
a pace and then speeded him to a Toomey
cart, the first mile in 2:5O, the second in
2:45h and the third in 2:22. Genta's i'm
provemcnt after this was very rapid, and on
Monday last he was given another trial.
After pulling a cart around the track in
ESQ he was hitched to a sulky for the first
time and logged easily in 2:36. He was then
given a third mile and finished in 2:l5, the
last half in 1907 and the last quarter In go
seconds. Reamer was not satisfied, how
ever, and after cooling out Genta was given
a fourth mile, this time making the circuit
in 2:13k, the last half in 1:O61s and the last
quarter in 32h seconds. Joshua Evans and
other Belmont members timed the horse in
2:12, and Reamer said he could have easily
beaten 2:1O had he kept close to the pole.
c. j. Hamlin, the master Of Village Farm,
who believes that he has in The Abbott the
fastest trotter on the turf today, is said to
be willing to make a match for 81, 500 or
So, 200 a side for his horse against the chest.
nut mare Elloree, 2:09H, both to go to
wagon. Elloree won the matinee champion.
ship last year at Cleveland, with a record to
wagon of 2:10, and The Abbott recently won
the race championship at Hartford in 2:12A;
but, as he did the last half in 1:03R and the
last quarter in 30A seconds, he should be a
good match for Elloree at her best.
Up to July IL there were some 225 new
ones added to the list of $50 performers.
w. W. Latta G. Son of Tekamah will cam
paign the 7-year-old pacing stallion, Ethan
II, 2:13k, by Ethan Wilkes. GAIT; dam Kate
dam Of Vinette, 2:09A), by Peavine, 513,
son Of Rather, sol.
Ringing horses in Germany is becoming
n regular business with some horsemen that
Is attended with considerable danger even
! to natives. A few weeks ago a German
, horse dealer started a Russian bred mare
in a race, and represented that she was
bred in Germany. He was caught, tried,
convicted, sentenced to one year in prison
at hard labor, and deprived of his civil
, rights for three years after completing his
prison sentence.
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