The evening times., 1899-01-16
THE PROSPECTS FOR
RACING AT BENNlNG
NO DATES FOR SPRING MEETING
Matter to Be Taken Up Mt Jockey
Club Meeting in New York
This Afternoon.

s. s. Howland. president OF the Wash
ington Jockey Club, is in New York. lie
is there to attend meeting Of the stew
ards OF the Jockey Club of America.
which takes place today. The object OF
the meeting is to put the finishing touch
es on the racing schedule for 1899. The
information comes from New York t1lS
morning that the Washington Jockey
Club would not apply for dates and would
be dropped from the schedule, which, of
couse means, if true, that there Will be
no racing at Benning this spring.
few days ago this result was predict
ed in the columns of this paper. The de-
termination of the Washington Club man
ayers, it is given out in New Io-k, is the
outcome of the prosecution of their track
officials for alleged violations of the law
against gambling at last falls meeting.
The action of the District authorities is
said to have been very annoying 10 the
club officials The charges against the
| bookmakers are still pending, and it is
believed that on the result Of these really
depends the future of racing in this vi
| cinity.
Those who should understand the situa
| ton say that when racing began here last
| fall the Jockey Club was generally believ-
| ed to stand between the odds-layers and
| questions of law-that is, the Jockey Club
| was to stand any expense that the book
makers might incur in suits If the law
| should lay its grip upon them. This po-
| sition. it is asserted, was accepted by the
| club when the cases of the officials were
| brought up in the Police Court. Since
| then the club has come to the conclusion
that in the pending cases the bookmakers
must take care of themselves.
| The bookmakers would willingly accept
| and pay the expenses of these trials. it is
| believed, if they could feel assured that
| they would be relieved of trouble in the
| future. But it seems that nobody feels
! inclined to give this assurance and the
| bockmakers have concluded that it would
| be neither business nor pleasure for them
| to pay the Jockey Club $75 a day each for
betting privilege on the Benning track
and in addition take the chance of further
expense and annoyance should they come
to a meeting here il the spring. They
have, therefore, come to an agreement
| among themselves that they will give
Washington the go-by.
The absence of the bookmakers at the
spring racing meeting or any other meet
ing at Benning would mean a very big re-
duction In the receipts-a reduction tina
would simply make any such meeting de-
cided financial failure. There were from
fifteen to twenty odds-layers at the las
meeting, and their donations to the locke.
Club on that occasion counted from S1,00
to $500 day; in fact, did not fall yer.
much short of paying the purses ran for.
A gentleman who has been connectet
with racing here for many years said tha
he did not think the Washington Club off
cials would venture spring meeting. The.
would let it out in the hope that tn
friends of the sport here might feel a
keenly as possible the loss of its enjoymen
and come together in an effort to secur
more liberal racing laws