The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-05

engaged during the last two weeks In searching past records in the turf guides newal of the race. sNt
 The labors of research and the art of handicapping field in a Zig race is c task which the gendIal Aorse-loving pub lie hardly appr seiates. Each candidate, large or small. is checked over, his ca reer in competition carefully sifted for good or bad performances, and on the strength of the sum total of information gleaned thereby the horse Is allotted his impost.
 The duties of handicapner are two- fold. Weights should be assigned so that each candidate seems sure of some chance to win. An equitable adjustment of weights conveys the idea to an owner that his horse stands some chance of de- feating the other fellows horse The po- sition of a handicapper is likewise a
 thankless one. It may be better com pared , with the position of an umpire in handicapcer cannot please everyoneI It is but natural that owners should want their charges in the race with as little weight as possible. posts without criticism could secure a salary equivalent ta his weight in gold from the Eastern or English Jockey Club. The local handicapper's figures in the past have passed without much crit icism from horsemen but the best proof of the equity is Montgomery Handicap weights has been the finishes and the betting on the various candidates before D: st time.
 The race has always been productive or much betting, a fact clearly indicat- Ing that admirers of various horses are cc cnvirced that their choice has a chance The finish, in nearly every instance, has proved to be magnificent struggle be- tween representative thoroughbreds; as witness that nase-and-nose fight between Salvable and Ornament in '9S; the strug- gle of the big field which Dunois and
 Manuel beat in '99; the duel between Schorr's Streamer and Bennetts Laure-
 ate in 1900, and the victory of Larkspur last year.
 Mir Macfarlans figures and allotments
 have. invariably produced a horse race in the true esnse of the phrase and with
 this years field, including as it does the
 the best of the 3-year-olds, the Mont
 gomery will again he chronicled in the
 turf annals as one of the classics of the century.
 Weights will appear next Saturday morning. Declarations are due February 9. The race will be run on Easter Mon day. March 31, and with future quota tions on the event. as mas been prom ised by Bookmaker Joe Ullman of Hot Springs, the Montgomery Handicap of 1902 seems destined to attract as much attention from the East as 1t does in the West.
 The blizzard which settled over this section of the South caused a change In the plans of owners and trainers pre- pairing for early and late purses and stakes Before the coming of the cold spell the trainer had prepared to com mence the regular routine work of pre- pairing his charges and several of the prominent Derby candidates had been sent along at a merry clip. but an ava lanche of snow, sleet. hail and rain ar rived during the early part of sie week and horses as well as humans are now idle at the local training havens.
 Of the original ninety-nine nominations in the American Derby more than one fifth of that number are quagtered here. Among the lot are McChesney and Abe Frank. a brace of candidates that will probably attract much attention from the turf prophets trying to select a prospective ante-post favorite In any Western Derby. In addition to McChes- ney and Abe Frank the choices of the turf contingent in the Middle West are also quartered here in George C. Ben- nettss Aladdin, Herodiade, Blennen- worth and Little Scout Sam Hildreth's Eucien Appeby. Pat Duncans J. F. Kirby. Memnon. Hargis. Henry Zitt and Arian and The Rival; W. H. McCorkle's Barouche: Ed R. Bradley's Red Hook; J. S. O'Briens Albert; J. W. Schorr's Larry Young H. L. Coleman. Major Ten ny, Charles w. Meyer and Harry Will son. and the usual number of so-calied dark horses WHICH dDOuiiu HI cry barn. With this array of Derby tim her waiting for a chance to receive their
 morning preliminary trials and spins the local training headquarters will be watched by turf followers the country over. 4.
 AS the racing season draws closer tt
 becomes more apparent each day that John W. Schorr, the local owner, who has always been looked on to furnish first, second or third choice in the bet ofF xubaf fa looked present as a dangerous candidate. Schorr has won many of the Western S-year-old classics. His horses have captured two Crescent City Derbies. one California perbies and many events exclusively for 3-year-olds, but with Larry Young, Ma for Tenny. II. l.. Coleman and Charles W. Meyer the local man is looked on without fear from owners of other j. year-olds at present Schorr himself has admitted that he looks to be out of the struggle for derbies this season. Of the many a-year-olds quartered in his estah- lishment there are seven that failed to win a race last season. These seven maidens are among the number that will strive for 3-year-old fixtures this year.
 Larry Young. a handsome son of-Poto- mac and Princess Monmouth Is one of the maidens that great things are not started and is beautiful type of that poses with perfection in his stall but who works in lanky, lazy manner when called on for track service. Larry Young Is not looked on with much favor by Mir. Schorr but Trainer George Walker, whose opinion on horses in the Schorr barn has been Invaluable, says that Larry Young is des- tined to develop into good race horse. The colt is strapping big locker and thinks that he will be able to go q route later on. Charles w. Meyer, the only stake winner among the Schorr 3- year-olds. has wintered in good health and will be the dependepce of the stable for the more important races. Charles w. Meyer has not grown much and doubts are expressed about his ability to negotiate q distance of ground. This colt defeated Ale Frank in handy fashion the first time they met in the local Gas ton Hotel Stakes last spring and at that time was picked as the premier colt of the local races
 An owner who has many Western der by candidates in his barn and who Is absolutely dumb about his chances in the classics, is Pat Dunne. who has been identified locally through several success full coups perpetrated on innocent anu unsuspecting bookmakers. HargiS, Mem mon and !. V Kirby are the best thought of among Dunne's 3-year-ods. They were. being sent along at a two-minute clip before the mercury fell in the Fah- renheit machines and after the weather subsidies will be taken up and prepared for their engagements here and other tracks along the Western route.
 After Joe Ullman. the Eastern book maker made Il tour of inspection among