The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-10-21
ALL TALKING ABOUT
KING OF TROTTERS
Eastern Papers Hear Wichita
Track Is Short.
HOW STORY ORIGINATED
Movement to Buy Fair Grounds
Given a BoSt.


was the talk of Wichita yesterday as
well as of the rest of the country. There
were hundreds of people in the city who
regretted that they missed seeing the
race that is going to be one Of the his
toric events of the trotting race track,
and there are not a few people who be-
heve that Cresceus will stand the winner
Of the fastest mile fer ali time to come
Eastern papers keep telegraphing The
Eagle to know If the Wichita track is
short. That report seems TO have been
general in the East. and il is easily &C
counted for. The track was short when
it was first laid out, and some of the
| horsemen who heard that years ago.
think that ii may have been left in that
condition. They do not know that Thorn
as McNair had survey Of the track
made and pushed it out to make the full
mile. All of the local horsemen here
understand this and that the track is
now a full mile. Cash Henderson says
that measuring three feet from the pole
it is about seven feet over the mile, and
he offered to wager 5000 yesterday that
a re-measurement OF the track would
not show that it is short.
One thing certain is that the people of
this city were satisfied with the race
When Mr.. Ketcham left for Oklahoma
City yesterday the great Cresceus was
led up Douglas avenue and Main street
preceded by a brass band and followed
by George II. Ketcham and Colonel Jor-
dan in a hack. Cresceus was a good
deal bigger horse when he left Wichita
than when he came here; that is some
people thought he was bigger but the
fact is that he was always the greatest
trotting horse in the world.
One of the best pleased men in the
city yesterday was L. Stippech, the North
Main street blacksmith He shod Cres-
ceus for his great race yesterday. He
said: Il am the only blacksmith in the
world who ever put a shoe on horse
that trotted a mile in less than two min
utes. His front shoes weighed eight
ounces and the hind shoes five ounces. l
wanted to keep those shoes. but all that
! could get was the ones l removed when
l shod him. When Mr. Ketcham has the
shoes removed again I presume he will
keep the ones put on. 1 also shod
Peter Sterling when Chandler had him
here and you see | have shod some of
the greatest horses in the world 1t would
be better to say the greatest
The great race of Crescues has given
the movement TO buy the fair grounds
by a local company boost. The people
OF the city want to own the grounds, and
it was given out on good authority yes
terday that the street. car company is
willing to put $500 into the fair grounds.
The reason that the street car COM
pany favors keeping the fair grounds al
the present location is that street cars
can be run to it without any dangerous
railroad crossings. The only railroad TO
be crossed in getting 10 the grounds is
the Wichita and Western, and they have
no switch yards to interfere with the
street cars at the Main street crossing
The business men and horsemen of the
city are in favor of buying the grounds
and making a stock fair and racing
permanent thing. The movement was
delayed awaiting for J. b. Chandler to
return.
The people have confidence in his judg-
ment in relation to the grounds. and the
proper way TO organize the company. lie
is now here and work will be commenced
to organize a company
DR.. John NIinick said the other day
that the proper thing to do was to sell
shares of 500 each so that the grounds
could not be controlled by few men.
He says it will be a great benefit 10 the
city. and for that reason the stock ought
TO be pretty well distributed.
some of the local horsemen say when
they set the grounds and new grand
stand built they win have printed across
the front of it this sign: "Cresceus.
! :5ss.. That ~ill stand as the trottins
record of the track until some OF the
Wichita horsemen develop horse that
will beat the time of the great Cresceus