The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-04-08

| Six or seven races day do not furnish
| excitement enough for the cross-coun-
| try contingent at Benning, and i'm
| promptu races are made up on morn
| ings when the track is open for school
ing purposes.
| Thursday morning at the track half a
dozen or more horses were in the field
at one time. when it was suggested that
they be schooled together at racing
pitch. A purse of SO was quickly made
| up to go to the boy who led over the
water after one turn of the field.
1t developed into a real contest, and
was full of excitement from beginning
te end. DR.. James Kerr's Follow On
was the winner Follow On was ridden
| by a negro who has been working for
various cross-country stables for several
years. His name is Andrew. He may
have more name than that but no one
knows what it is Andrew was doing
"a perpetual cakewalk about the paddock
during the afternoon. and trying to pro-
| mote other races of like character.
! The most pleasing feature of yester-
days racing was the success of Gold
| Van in the steeplcchase, as it was the
first victory for George a. Laportas. Mr..
! Laportas Is young man Of considerable
wealth with a strong fancy for steeple-
chasing, and was a cross-country rider
himself in the old Cedarhurst days
About two years ago Mr.. Laportas be-
gan the work of accommodating "a cross
country stable. He bought a number of
horses with good prospects, but some
thing always happened to them. One by
one. they went wrong, but the young
townar would try again. He has in
tTested 10000 or $4,000 in horses, but
lneve- had the pleasure of seeing his
lcolors in front in race until Gold Van
Won Yesterday.
Gold Van was the outsider in the
speculation and at decidedly false price.
/ The public and cross-country experts
alike agreed that the race was a gal1op
for Black Death. but Gold Van made
the horse with the awful name look like
a badly battered 30-cent piece by going
TO the front in the last mile and stay
ing there until the field had passed the
judges.
An amusing angle to the race was that
wnen Gold Van went TO the front tic
fcrosscoGntry set one and all began root
. ing for him TO stay there though his
winning would mean a loss to them in
/. wagers. Mr.. and Mrs. LaportaS were
warmly congratulated because the ice
!. had Deen broken.
Gold Van cost $4,000 as a yearling nc
, was one of the best two-year-olds ir
the barn OF Green Is. Morris. He went
wrong afterward and has passed
| through several hands. Mr. LaportaS
bought him last fall for $50.
Jockey Hildebrand. the leading rider
l of last season, is expected here Sunday
= and win ride for the remainder of the
! meeting. Hildebrand will probably ride
for Harry Payne Whitney the coming
season.
Billy Garth, who has suffered a few
defeats lately that were not pleasing
had his dander up yesterday and wen
at EN- in earnest. The rotund wrestling
, Virginian started four horses. won witt
three of them and too kthird money
with the fourth. There was a biz
$ plunge on NagaZan the Garth candidat,
y for the first two-year-old race. Nagazar
had not started before, but had worked
so well that he was voted a good thing
One bettoT. who was unknown 20 the
Regulars, went up and down the lin,
t with u roll of yellowbacks that Z
[ greyhound couldn't jump over, as on,
= envious individual expressed ii. He be
whatever the layers would take anC
must have won Il small fortune as h,
got 2 and 3 TO l for the most of hi.
money.