The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-05
BUTTE NEWS.
TO IMPROVE cOURS|NC
The Sport Will Be Begun About
the First of April.
WILL USE JEROME BOXES
No Reason Why Coursing Cannot Be
Made One of the Standard Forms of
Amusement in Montana-Wil
Be Good Prize Money.

G. H. Macdougall has purchased the
improvements at West Side coursing
park and has secured a lease Oh the
ground for three years, thus becoming
owner of all the property and rights for
merly held by the Butte Coursing club
Negotiations are in progress looking
to the employment of an experienced
judge of coursing to officiate at West
Side park during the ensuing season.
Contracts have been made for a suili-
cient supply OF jack rabbits, Of which
the first lot will be shipped within a
week or 10 days. AS courSing will not,
in all proba bilty. be possible before
April the jacks shipped during this
month will have been in the park long
enough, when that time arrives, to in
sure their giving good runs. The new
proprietor feels sure that proper care
of the jacks will improve the quality
of the sport to a considerable extent.
II is intended to introduce the jerome
hare boxes, the use of which a the San
Francisco parks has heightened the
runs to the extent that it is often neces-
sary to let a couple of fresh dogs go to
help the contending pair, to prevent
them killing themselves The Jerome
box is an Australian invention, by
means of which the hares are kept quiet
and undisturbed until their time comes
NO rum and which also enables a more
careful selection of the hares.
1t has often happened in the past that
good jack which managed to reach
the east fence of the park. which is
about $50 yards from the slipping point,
reached there about the middle Of the
east end, and was killed trying to reach
the escapes. which are situated in the
corners. To obviate this, and enable a
game jack to save his life if he gets that
far, third escape will be built about
midway between the two there at pres
ent. Kennels will also be built for the
more comfortable accommodation of
the hounds and the stand will be i'm
proved and made more comfortable
Under favorable auspices there is no
reason why coursing should not take
Its place as one of the standard forms
of amusement in Montana. 1t has al
ready done so in California. Hardly
month goes by that some other Califor-
mia town does not join the list of cours-
ing communities. There are now no
less than seven eoursing parks running
within hundred miles of San Fran
cisco. In the city itself there are two
parks, lngleside and Union. where
there Is coursing every Saturday and
Sunday The stakes assumed such size
+. that IT became necessary to run the
first round on Saturday afternoon, then
run the ties off on Sunday, commence
ing at 1880 a. m. And even then the
management has been obliged to limit
the number of entries, so that they
could get through at a reasonable hour
on Sunday afternoon Two weeks ago,
at Union park, there We're two stakes,
free-for-all for aged dogs. limited to
64 entries, and sapling stake limited
- Nov, no.
ment was compelled to refuse Is entries,
and in the sapling stake the same num-
Der were obliged to wait for another
opportunity. 1t frequently happens
that on Saturday afternoon $50 hounds
are stripped to run at these two parks,
and the amount of money given in
prizes during the last year is not less
than 100000 or 1000 at each park. The
usual purses there are S11O to first, $50
to second, s35 each to the next two and
SO on down, every dog that wins a
course getting from S. to $3.50.
While the proprietor of West Side
park does not feel able to offer such
tempting purses as these to Butte
coursers, they can depend that the prize
money will be made as big as the pa
tronage of the park shall warrant.
There is no dearth of good racing ma
tefial. Seventy-eight Butte and Ana
eonda srayhounds have been registered
IN the srayhound STUD book and there
are prooapiy nearly as many more that
Will De OIL age 10 race the coming sea-
son. The California parks refuse the
entry of unregistered dogs. and it has
4 been suggested that the rule be enforced
III Suite, but there IS some question
whether the sport is old enough here to
make that bic. and it is proba BILE
mat II Will not De enforced until 1900.
II IS also INTENDED TO introduce the
system OF long odds betting, which
IS the making OF pets on the eventual
result ihls system, Whlch mas existed
TOT many years IN england, was intro
duced IN Callfornla the past season with
sratlivlhs results. from the nature or
courslns the chances against any one
DOG winning stake are much greater
IMAM against one morse IN a race. The
dog mas 10 run from four to SIX or seven
courses IN any OF Whlch ne may go out
ana, unlike trotter' once beaten he
IS OUT OF the race. 1t results that five
70 one against dos would IN most