New-York tribune., 1907-06-24
AT THE FRENCH RACES
Many americans Go to AuteuJ and
L0ngchamps.
Paris, June IL


The transatlantic invasion Of Paris is the feat-
ure of the present season. Not since the worlds
fair of 1900 have there been so many Americans
in Paris. Our cOuntrywomen have taken the Rue
de Ia Paix by storm. while their husbands.
fathers, brothers or fances seem to have capt
ured the Bos de Boulogne. with its open-air
restaurants. and the racecourses of Auteuu and
Longchamps over 100000 persons attended tns
Grand Steeplechase of Paris at Auteuil on sun
day. and of these at least 5000 were Americans.
This and the mail coach meeting tomorrow ara
the smartest sporting gatherings of the year. for
the Grand Prix de Paris. which will be run next
Sunday has become. like the English Derby, a
festival of democracy, and the elaborate gowns
of society leaders are no longer worn amid tina
rush and crush Of the popular event az Long
champs Racing will continue in the environs OF
Paris until the middle Of July. and as thousands
of American visitors will. perhaps for the first
time, put in appearance at the French meet
ings d well known New York patron OF the turf
whom | met at the Grand SteeplechaSe at Au-
teuil suggested the utility of cursOry descrtp-
ton of the way Parisians attend the races.
Long before the gates Of the beautiful race
course were open green. shady Auteuil was
thronged by eager, pleasure loving crowd
drawn from every quarter of Paris. By road and
by rail. by steamboat tramcar. break or bus,
they focked in thousands to witness the great
steepIechase of the year. The old hands brought:
campstooIs and they fell into orderly cues az
the gates. prepared to wait as long as necessary
10 insure getting good place within the fence.
Not even a short sharp thunder shower damped
their ardor. The women put up their sunshades
and remarked optimistically 10 one another Tt
is passing storm" and held their ground.
BY 2 o'clock the long chestnut avenues leading
from the Auteuil gates to the banks Of the Seine
opposite St Cloud We're lined with vehicles OF
every description. There were imposing motor
breaks belonging to the different tourist COM
panies which had brought foreign visitors To
the race meeting; there were old fashioned two
story omDibuses. which had been requisltioned
for the occasion; there were enormous high
chars-a-bancs. drawn by four horses. which had
brought all the factory hands OF BelleviIle on
the east and Montrouge on the south, and IL ap-
peared as though every cab in the capital had
made its way to the pretty little suburb in ths
Bots de BOulogne
At intervals the route was dotted with I'm
promptu "buffets.' Paris always INDUCES in
a snack in the course of an afternoon which il
calls a '"casse-crO0te." The "casse-cro1te' OF
the cabmen is apt to be a trf1e solid, as 4
glance around these picnic tables will show.
Loaves of bread yards in length were 1anked
by slices Of garIic-seasoned legs of mutton and
large Aries saUSaSes- The white. shiny hated
"Crbaines" and their yellow cockaded rivals
broke their crusts side by side and forgot pro-
fessonal jealousy they discussed the chances
OF the favOrite for the great event Wherever
two roads met, even in remote spots where no
racegOers could have been expected one cams
upon ramshackle tables. their shaky legs hidden
beneath red turkey twill and further covered
by clean white cloth. which there stood a
large glass barrel of some yellow decOcticn
which should have been lemonade to judge by
the slices of lemon floating on top. The sultry-
weather made everybody thirsty and q lively
trade was done In glasses of the mixture at
two cents apiece. 1t looked cooler than it really
was thanks to the block OF ice laid across tbs
barrel.
BY the time the gates We're thrown upon To
the public the smart set" had begun to arrive
in motor cars of the latest pattern. \ contin-
gent OF Bourbon princes and princesses drove
in from their palace In the neighborhood of ths
racecOurse. the Pare des Princes. their hand
some liveries. with gold corded foOtmen, con-
spcuous among the palmer iveries and tri-col-
ored cOckades Of republican Officialdom. Tho
grandstands began To look like gigantic jar
dinieres, howerlike and many hued We're ths
toilets Of the women. Seen from these mora
favored places the dense. seething masses on
the other side Of the course in the 2O-cene
inCl6sure. We're rather To be pitied. as they had
TO bear the full heat of the sun and were con-
demned 10 stand walk the whole afternoon.
Judged from the grandstauds. admission to
which costs ten francs for women and twenty
for men. AuteUil is rs pretty a course as could
be seen. There are bouquets of trees IN exactly
the right places To shield the stands from the
summer sun and pleasant breeze blows up
from the river. from the fine woods of St. Cloud
and Meudon. Then there noisy. shouting
a horse You walk around the offices OF ths
'pari mutueI" and above each little ticket win
dow is marked up the amount OF the bet which
Will be accepted AT each. These range from i've
francs up, and. having placed your money az
the window, you receive an automatically
punched ticket which may may not bring YOU
fortune. Whatever happens. however You can
not be robbed, and even If you lose YOU have
the pleasant knowledge that your stake has
gone toward the upkeep OF the Paris hospitals
and other charitable establishments. and not
into the pockets of some unscrupulous 'bookie.'
There is a good deal more emotion about
steepleChasing, of course. than there IS about
flat racing At AuteuiI the excitement IS intense
when the horses are of and making,
their way along the figure Of eight course over,
around or through the obstacles. None of these
are very alarming. The water jump is COM
parativey Insignificant and the hurdles not
Impressive. Still, there IS never q SreepleChas9
without an accident, and when a horse leaves
his jockey in the pool and continues his way
through the intricacies of the track II the walks
of stable companion shrieks Of laughter rise
from the left, and good natured chaff is handed
out to the discounted rider Less noisy oue
quite as intent are the occupants OF the Srand-
stands and the way TO the winning post -
punctuated by loud cheering of the particular
horses on which the company have laid thelr
money. Notwithstanding the suppression OF llS
bOokIuakers. an enormous amount OF clandesthe
and Illicit betting goes on. and large sums arc
staked and change hands outside the ken OF tH'
''pari nutuel"
IL is an astonishiugly we'll behaved crown
that makes its way back to Paris in the even.
ing when the excitement is over and the las,
race run The Grand Steeple and the Graha
Prix are the two most popular race meetings %
the Paris year and attract the greatest nuItos.