Arizona republican., 1909-03-23
SHORT HORSE RACING
IS A SUNDAY FAD
Horses Finishing Free Fun For Big
Crowds at Fair Grounds Sundays.

| Chick Chick and Sallie Goodwin be
beat? and for a reply to this all alb
sorbing question the people of Phoenix
are looking to Jack Walker and w. d.
| O'Neil for reply. Mr.. O'Neil who
owns Cricket. states that if the per
Torrance of this little horse for the
next six weeks equals his perform
ances for the last six. that he will
make the short horse race men and all
| their chickens take to the tallest trees
in Phoenix.
Mr.. O'Neil. through The Republican,
issues a challenge to the owners of the
following horses for race at the
Fairgrounds next Sunday: Sleepy
Kate. Ida, Annie. Queen. Sallie Good
win. Johnny Jones and Chick Chick.
He will race all of these horses in n
quarter of mile sweepstakes race or
any one of them. AS all of the horses
are evenly matched the race should
prove one of the prettiest that has ever
been seen at the Fairgrounds, for this
class of horses.
Last Sunday Cricket beat Brown
Bowman in the eighth mile race and
was beaten by the same horse in the
matched again next Sunday These
races are attracting a good dead Of at
tention and every Sunday sees larger
crowd to witness them.
Chick Chick. Cricket, Sleepy Kate
Ida, Annie. Queen. Eide Noso, Brown
Bowman. Glass Eye. Porchy. Buck
Skin, Sallie Goodwin, Little Johnny
Jones. Sleepy Bally. Dynamite. and
their owners, trainers and friends ad-
journ to the race track on Sundays to
satiate the Arizona love for horse
races. and some very funny incidents
have resulted which have amply re-
paid those who have spent their Sun
day afternoons at the track recently.
and the future promises even more in
teresting races than have been seen
thus far. as the fever has Just taken a
good hold.
Dan Steele the erstwhile owner.
trainer and jocky Of the invinciblo
Chick Chick, the sole survivor Of the
seven years racing war. was heard to
remark on Saturday night that all the
race horses in the world were chaI-
lenged to race Chick Chick at the
Fairgrounds on Sunday. but when the
phAAt40 VI DibWH boN MAN ana
promptly challenged the war horse of
many battles, his owner failed TO
'materialiZe" and thus spoiled the
fun the crowd was promised in seeing
Mr. Steele ride his horse
The fun started with the Mexicans
meeting at Eastlake Park with their
pillow horses" buggy horses" etc.
and matching small purse races. the
purses generally ranging from $500
to $500. according to how hard times
were. These races created a ranking
in the hearts of owners Of horses
they think can run, and every once
in a while a "wringer" with long hair
and feathers six inches long on his
feet. would be Griven out to the park.
attached to some nondescript vehicle
and after the other horses had all
been run down, the driver of the
''wringer" would blandly remarke that
the old work horse he was driving
could beat such race horses as those
and would offer to match a race for
any distance from ten feet to ten
miles for any purse from 800 to
100000. Naturally such remarks
would arouse the sporting blood of
most any sinner. and the differences
OF opinion which go to make horse
races would finally reach concrete
form-a purse OF $500 would be hung
up by the crowd-and the war would
start; that is after some responsible
person was phoned for from down
town to hold the purse, and such de-
tails. as distance. judges, starter
jockeys. weights etc, were arranged.
Ill
ries consisting Of pulling the shoes
off the "wringer's" feet and instruc-
tions to the jockey not to allow the
'wringer' to win by too much of
margin for fear he wouldn't be able
to get another race IL he showed off
his real speed.
During all this time two horses
known to Phoenix. and therefore to
fame. were peacefully feasting on the
well known alfalfa of the Salt River
valley in their respective stalls at
the Metropolitan and Burger corrals
They were Cricket and Sleepy Kate
and at "A dollar ride they had made
many times their value for their re-
spective stables, but no such com
mon fate as this could last long, for
w. ID. O'Neil, who sells typewriters,
and Mr.. Jack Walker. who runs the
Burger corral. got into a heated ar
gument, the outcome of which was
an agreement on the part of Mr.
O'Neil. that even if he did ride
broadway style" he could rent
saddle horse from any corral and
beat such a horse as Old Kate, and
thus the corner stone for the present
rage started Mr. O'Neil rented
Cricket from the Metropolitan and