Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-05-27
THE RACES

and cnlld loves nne morse and In
bunch of thirty to fifty there is sure
to be several attractive animals. The
temptation to get down in the
stretch and pat the knowing brutes.
possessed with far more sense than
people give them credit for, is at
times almost irresistible. Last fall
when Silver Dick sprinted down the
stretch for the prediction of the
people there We're hundreds of men
and women who could Just have loved
him to death" Therefore. we say,
horse race appeals to the average
person like no other sport. At times
the great American game of base ball
will create almost if not quite as much
interest. but it will not draw the
crowd a good race will And what
can be more inspiring than to witness
half dozen horses coming down the
stretch punched together so that the
winner is hard guess? 1t makes the
heart almost stop beating for the
time and one inadvertently holds the
breath in suspense until the agony is
over
Yesterday was not really an ideal
day for racing. 1t was just a trifle
too chilly for people to warm up and
become excited except for few min
utes at a time. The grand stand
noted number of summer costumes
underneath heavier wraps, while those
who braved the afternoon with sim.
pie shirt waist felt like hugging
stove occasionally. Still the day was
f,,,. ii ID.
5-r-only for the thin shirt waist contin-
gent. We might mention two or
three who We're too much interested
in the outcome of some of the events
to even consider the weather from
either a Klondike or South African
standpoint. Again the interest is
never as great the first day OF a race
meet as following days. 1t takes Que
day to warm the people up to the
sport. 1t takes one day for many
to warm up in another way First
they have to win to become interest
ed and those who lose are hot to get
even. Thus the interest increases
and by Friday when the winners
finish We expect to see hats thrown in
the air. ladies wave Old Glory. or in
lieu of flag their ever ready para
sol, while the more timid will partake
of peanuts and soft drinks won on
wagers. Even this afternoon there
will be increased interest and the
crowd will be much larger than the
first day, partly because the man or
woman who attended yesterday will
have told the neighbor who remained
at home and planted spuds of the fun
missed: then the ranchers will be
more in evidence Friday and Satur-
day. , yee farmer is great on coming
to tos,.sA., 1ast of the week and this
time he can kill two birds with one
stone-make the necessary purchases
and also take in the races.
But concerning yesterdays sports:
1t>Was not a~1ay in which favorites
We're in the majority. In fact of the
three races only one favorite nosed in
> ahead and on this race there was but
little money played owing to the ia
vorite being too much of favorite,
But in the other events. especially
1.-The mile dash. there was always n
ready second choice in the pools while
even the field commanded respectful
attention. The first event was a half
mile dash with five entries as fol
lows:
r. Q. Ban. Gratis. Jim Baker Me
Elmo Filley and Posey.
r. Q. Ban was u hot favorite aud
there was little betting. The specta-
tors had the pleasure OF seeing
double competition in this race.LThere
was much scoring-and probably jock
eying finally four horses getting away
even with the fifth standing still. The
judges had announced that go would
be announced by tapping the drum,
but the four under headway failed to
bear this in mind and made the run
around the track. the home stretch
being a pretty affair with r. Q. Ban
winning by probably half head,
some calling 1t a dead heat with Nc
Elmo. But 1t was declared no race
and later was run over again with
four horses starting. McElmo having
been withdrawn. having famed herself
in the first spurt and was unable to
make the run. The start was a very
fair one and was won by r. G. Ban by
a length or two with Gratis second
and Jim Baker third. In the first
spurt the rider of r. Q. Ban was Sc
verely Injured by the horse either hug
ging or being crowded too near the
fence, the leg below the knee being
bruised and flesh lacerated, causing
it to swell and be both painful and
inconvenient, but he was nervy and
continued to ride during the day.
In the trotting race there were
three entries as follows:
Eagle by c. e. Mcconnell, Arrow
pene by II. M. Malcom OF Frutland,
and Betsy Hoover by James Curl of
: Monte Vista.
Eagle was prime favorite and it
was hard to place money against him
by taking the field which was offered
fyyen up. There were few. how
ever, who had faith in Arrowpene
and they were rewarded for their
nerve. or as some might say. good
4