Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-04-23
BIC PURSES FOR
GRAND CIRCUIT
Fortunes offered for Trotters
and PAGERS in Leading
Track Events.
ENTRY LIST WILL BE LARGE
Detroit and Cleveland Lead With the
Size OF the Offering-Gossip
of the Turf.

Inc STAKE programs Ior the IOuf
western meetings of the grand circuit
Kalamazoo, Detroit, Cleveland and
Columbus-have been announced and
total up in the neighborhood Of $780,
900. There have been few changes In
the stake events from those Of last /
year, the most material one being the
change of the $4,000 trotting stake in
Kalamazoo from the ola TO the All
class, which Will let IN a lot Of horses
which have previously campaigned and
taken in records on the mile tracks.
All of the talk about a radical change
In the conditions OF the Chamber Of
Commerce $1,000 stake, which IL the
pacing feature of the Detroit blue rib
bon meeting, came to naught Back
In the middle nineties, when ID. ]. Cam
pau was the controlling spirit OF the
Detroit meeting, as he was OF the
entire grand circuit, he inaugurated
this stake, making 1t, like the trotting
classic, the NJ. and NJ. for the 2:24 class,
which practically means an event for
green horses. A lot OF pressure was
brought TO bear on Campau to change
the class of both events, letting In inst
er record horses, but as far as the NJ.
and NJ. was concerned the Detroit ex-
ecutive turned deaf ear to his advis-
ers.
The NJ. and NJ. was his pet stake. It
was he who first announced It In 1880,
in the days Of the high wheel sulky,
and IL has become the classic stake of
harness horse turf. Campau has now
passed, and new hands are governing
the destinies Of the organization.
Last season a strong effort was
made to induce the managers Of the
meeting to change the class Of the
Chamber of Commerce stake to a slow
er class in order to bar out the little
stallion George Gano, who had shown
that he would walk away with first
money If he got to the post ut. Al
though it cost them many entries, the
Detroit people stood by their guns and
refused to put George Gano outside
the breastworks. AS was expected.
he came to the post as at as a fiddle
and won or the reel, as he did In all
but one of his starts on the grand cir
cult.
Hobbies Not Barred.
When the anh-hobble agitation was
was semiofficially announced that the
class of the Chamber of Commerce
would be changed back to the time
honored 2:24 and also that horses wear
ing the submarine harness" would not
find the welcome sign on the mat
when the entries were being made
in other words. that the hobblers
would be barred. Then Secretary
Moone arrived on the scene, and there
was Immediately a change I'm senti-
nent, the New England man persuad-
ing the Detroit management that bar
ring the hobbies was not the thing
for the Chamber OF Commerce, so
there was no surprise at the recent
announcement that the event would.
as usual, be for the 2:13 class and
that the number of harnesses which a
PAGER wore would not affect his social
standing as far as a try at the $1,000
stake money was concerned. This
means a larger field and an old fash
toned horse race, but the opponents of
the hobble will tell you that II will
not tend to improve the breed OF
horses.
AS usual, the NJ and NJ. is a $4,000
event for 2:24 trotters. There is no
other feature Of the harness horse
game which does as much TO keep up
the price of green trotters as the NJ.
and NJ, and IL is n testimonial TO the
wisdom of Campau in refusing to al
low IT to be changed to a class for
faster record horses.
The other two early closing events
for the Detroit meeting are for $1,000
each and are for 2:11 and four-year-
old trotters In addition to these there
will be the three futurlties promoted
by the Horseman. events for three and
two year old trotters and three-year-
old PAGERS, which aggregate $4,000 In
purse money.
The cry raised in Detroit at the time
Of the assignment OF dates by the
grand circuit stewards that the fact
that the $4,000 stake at Kalamazoo
would be raced the week before the
NJ. and NJ would rob the latter event OF
a lot of interest seems to be without
grounds. II there was any real dan
ger Of this the Kalamazoo manage
ment has dispelled It by changing the
.lass Of the event TO 2:11. A big share
1f the NJ. and NJ. trotters Will not be
starters in an event where they will
have to meet, right at the start Of the
grand circuit. old and tried campaign
srs.
The Celery City association offers n
g. 900 event for 2:15 trotters. and this
will be liable to catch more Of the NJ
ind NJ. candidates than the richer event
IN any event it will serve to split them
Up. The $1,000 pacing stake at Kala-
fe 90
Jhamber OF Commerce, but there is
ilso $1,000 event for slower class.
md again this Will serve to split the
Ields up. playing into the hands of the
Detroit people.
Western Handicap Shoot.