Omaha daily bee., 1910-07-03
RACING CANE WIDESPREAD
Nine Hundred and Three Cities Hole
Race Meetings.
EXTRA MEETINGS ALSO HELD
Popularity of sport IL Vast and sta
tistics show Great Breeding In
dustry and wonderful
Financial Results.

NEW YORK, July 2.-The number of
cities and towns where trotting meetings
were held during the racing season of 1903
under the direct supervision OF the National
and American Trotting associations and
the result reported to the officials OF the
Register association was 800, the majority
of them holding one meeting in the entire
season.
In number Of places extra meetings
were given, which brings the total OF
regular meetings officially reported and
published In the Year Book to 1O54, the
number of extra meetings being fifteen In
this estimate are not included the matinee
races held in at least half of the 800 cities
where regular or professional races were
held for cash purses, stakes and futuritles
and admission charged at the gate.
Scores of harness meetings of one day or
longer duration are annually held all over
the country, the result OF which is never
reported to trotting officials and not pub
lished. They add greatly to the total num-
Der of such meetings, where the general
public Of the entire country enjoys the
sport.
The year book shows a total amount
given by these nine hundred odd racing as
sociations or individual tracks to trotters
n small
fraction less than S3,OO0OOO the prizes in
cash varying from 800 up to 5000. and
$4,000 classic stakes and the big futurities,
up to the $500 handicap at Readville. This
total amount brings the general amount
of cash premiums for each meeting. large
and small close to $500 as the amount
given by track managers for the enter
tainment of their patrons.
Three Days is Average.
small percentage of trotting meetings
recorded are only of one afternoon. while
a majority of them last four days. The
next largest are of three days, while those
in connection with the two big circuits,
the Grand and Great Western, and the
state fairs, are of five days and ten days
at Columbus and Lexington. Estimates of
the past proved that three and a half days
is fair and general average for the meet
ings held, so that nearly 1900 days of
racing were patronized by the American
public throughout the United States, mostly
during the months of August September
and October.
Trotting meetings are held in different
parts of the country as early as May and as
late as November but these are few in
number compared with former years, the
general rule being not to start real sport
until the latter part of June or early in
July Taking June as a racing month, the
sport lasts for five months in the year
and an average Of 800 days in each month
1t is hard to estimate, even approximately
the number of attendances in these trotting
meetings, yet an, idea can be found when
1t is stated that as high as $1,000 paid
admissions to the racing Enclosure OF tho
New York State fair at Syracuse has been
recorded for one afternoon. and the same
stands true for nearly all the big fairs
where harness racing OF high order Is a
feature, east and west
No feature Of harness racing can better
illustrate the extent of the horse breed.
Ing industry and the popularity OF the
sport than the estimated number of trot-
tiers and PAGERS that are campaigned each
each season, as this is one point In which
no falling off is shown. even II the num-
Der of meetings, amount of purses and
paid admissions at the gates or racing in
closures have partly fallen off during
the last few years.
Expenses Arc Heavy.