The times., 1898-07-11

the Newby Oval by the State l. A w
meet on July 4 Mr.. Herbert w. FoltZ,
architect Of the track and member of the
racing board. said: There is nothing
that could be done 10 improve the track
in any way or make il any faster" All of
the riders have spoken in the highest
terms concerning the track Just at pres
ent. however, the track is a little faster
al night than during the day on account
OF the nature Of the preservatiVe which
was used in coating the surface Of the
track and which acts not only as a thor
ough preservative, but prevents ii from
being at all slippery from water The
surface is stflI somewhat rough. but ii is
being gone over frequently with wire
brushes to remove this Objectionable
roughness. There can be no positive dam
ger. on the other hand, Of the track be-
coming too smooth, on account of the re-
siliency which naturally Is present and
which corresponds very closely TO the
pebble tread tire. There were several
spills on the Fourth, but these all oc-
CURED I'm the amateur races, and with
but one or two exceptions among inexpe-
rienced riders. The whaleback feature
and the banked turns did all that was ex-
pected. Nearly all Of the spills resulted
from attempts 10 turn in around these
banks, after being spread out on the
stretches, without taking into account the
change in slope Where the track is
banked the banking is uniform, but be
tween the TWO turns come the more level
-F,g,
were unfamiliar with the track.
Worlds Records Broken on OyaI.
In pacing Gibson an exhibition half
triplet ridden by John o'Mara, L. L. Nc
Keen and c. r Pease broke the worlds
record for that distance, making il in
0:50 3-5- l. ID. Cabanne won the mile open
professional in I:5s 3-5 without pushing
himself to his limit. Several State records
were also smashed. These speak some
thing for the track. Harry Gibson. of
Cincinnati with his trainer, J.. l. Dodds,
remained here several days after the meet
TO make an attempt TO lower the world $
record in all short distances. This was
attempted on the day following the
Fourth, but one Of the regular pacing
team was unable to ride. and instead Of
worlds records, Gibson only succeeded in
breaking several more State records Mr..
Dobbs thinks that in Mr.. Gibson he has
a second Jimmy Michael and from here
win go directly to Philadelphia TO take
advantage OF the regular pacing teams
there Mr. Gibson's riding fully jusJifies
his trainers opinion.
Mr.. Foltz is in correspondence with
several of the middle distance riders and
Will arrange a middle-distance match race
for the national meet in August, but just
whom these riders viii be is still doubt
ful Regular pacing teams, both anna
teur and professional will soon be put on
the track here, both tandems and triplets.
strong pacing being all that will be nee
essary TO bring several Of the worlds
records to this track during the season.
Quite a number Of the men who rode
here on the Fourth came especially to
test the track in competition in anticipa-
ton Of the national meet. Local riders
are enthusiastic about the track and Mr.
FoItz and Mr.. Ashinger, the architect
and builder, are more than satisfied with
their work
Trial Work on the Trnck.
During the past week, many OF the
welI-known riders Of the State made fire.
quent trips TO the new track Their trial
work has been eminenty satisfactory.
On Thursday 'Toots" Watson made the
mile in 2:01 fat, and on Friday the track
company wanted to put on pacing team
and make a trial for records. The team
however, failed TO materialize. Notwith-
standing, several creditable performances
were made. Tom David rode the half
paced, in 0:57 2-5, and Pfeffer and Watson
together with no especial effort, reeled
of the distance in l:01 and the mile in
2:l0. J. Steinmetz also went over the mile
course in 2:l5 As, without the aid OF a
pace. Several attempted the quarter and
i. Steinmetz recorded O.29 fat, while Ed
Pfeffer cut that down to q As seconds
The promoters of the track feel confident
that under favorable conditions the mile
can be put at much lower figures, 1:5O moi
being beyond probabilities, and cores
pondingly low figures for the shorter dis
tances.
Many requests have come in from the
cracks Of the racing world, both pro.
fesssional and amateur. concerning tht
new track, its possibilities and probabili
ties. All who have had an opportunity
10 test the track pronounce it one of the
fastest in the country. and before tn,
close Of the two coming meets, it is ex.
pected many Of the worlds records viii
be held by the Newby Oval After The
close Of the meet the Newby Oval will
doubtless, be turned over to an athletic
club. The nclosed space is amply large
enough for ali baseball and football
games, as well as all outdoor sports oi
the same nature, and besides this. !
horse show for the edifcation of Indian
apolis people is in prospect.
Work of the Committees.
{. c Foster, chairman of the commit.
tee Of accommodations. has everything
IL shape for the comfort of all visitors
during the national Tnee5. The commit
tee has combined with the corresponding
committee Of the knights or Pythias. Mns
also hold a national convention here III,
last OF August, and a thorough canva.
has been made Of all the hotels. home:
and boarding houses Of the city, wher,
rooms and board may be obtained by Wis
ftors. There viii be no scarcity of com
Portable quarters.
The railroads Of the country have me
the requests OF the wheelmen and all O
the roads east Of the Mississippi viii
give one-fare rate for the round trip
and those roads Of the Western Passen
fav, 60
round trip plus s. They have also prom