The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-07-13
CHARTER OAK GLoRIEs.
Viewing the Seasons Work and the
 Half Completed New Half-Mile

l N--N l Half Completed New Half Mile 1 Track.
 l As the time approaches for the open- ing of the Grand Circuit meeting at Charter Oak Park, September 2-7, there
 is much interest taken in the condition l of the speed surface The Hartford | Times says on the subject: This was l quite noticeable after the matinee | Wednesday afternoon. Never has such
 class of trainers congregated at this ] track to receive their early race prep
 aration as have this season, and now 1 they are leaving for their several cir
 cults with only the highest praise for l the course over which they have l trained. Only day or two ago four of
 the fastest pacers in America were jogging through the stretch at the same
 time-Joe Patchen, Searchlight, Coney
 and Prince Alert-each capable of a !. quarter in twenty-nine seconds at any | time, and all going sound. In fact not | a horse has shown a sign of soreness at the track.
 l The restaurant has been completed and extends the full length of the
 grand stand, To this new addition have been built four entrances from the auditorium of the stand, which
 supplies q circulation of air that will
 make the stand cool and delightful on
 the hottest of hot race days.
 After the matinee the people inspect ed these improvements and then, in company with Mir. Welch, went to the
 site of the new half-mile track--noW
 about half completed-and were shown
 over this surface. It is built parallel
 with the mile track, and will be sixty
 feet wide in the stretch, It's surface
 contains not stone the size of pea
 It's turns are built after the style of
 the best half miles in the country, and
 the draining will be of the most com
 plete, not too abruptly. but the pipes
 will be laid about six feet back from the track, allowing sufficient quanti- ty of moisture to remain on the surface to temper the footing, and keep life in the soil.
 The iron-trussed building that was used as a dance pavilion will be con- verted into an audience view for this new track. It will be about fifty feet longer than the grand stand at the old half mile track on Albany avenue, and it's seating capacity much larger. The track was laid out so as to avoid the moving of this iron structure Roger Shermans teams are busy in the con- struction of the track and he promises that in two weeks time the surface will be in completion with the mile track.
 The secretary's office is now comple- ted, with the exception of furnishing. It reflects credit on the mechanism of Henry Small, superintendent of con- struction at Charter Oak, and furnishes a building that will entertain and de- light the horsemen visitors on race week. It Is lighted by electricity, will be heated by steam, although there are elegant tile fireplaces in which to burn the Yule log, or the odds and ends nipped, off by MT. Small's workmen.
 From the upper veranda could be seen the winrows of hay that had been cut and horse -raked during the after noon in the infield of the track, and as the sun sank back of old Talcott Noun tain it threw glow over this scene of country life that was enjoyed, even though it would require the brush of an artist to reproduce its effects. From this infeld about one hundred and fif- ty tons of hay will be cut-and it is of the best.
 From record breaking speed at the track to a four-mile ride to City Hall on an electric car. that took just half an hours time, was cooling to the ar dor of the horse party-but the moto man and conductor were running Ion time"