The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-03-04
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Chicago. ILL.,. March 4.-One of the
standing causes for complaint with the
conduct OF lightharness racing in thi:
country is the extreme shortness o1
the campaign. To all practical inten,s
and purposes it is compressed into the
four months of July, August, Septem.
Der and October. To be sure there arc
race meetings held both before and
after that period, but they are few in
number-very few in comparison with
the total for the season-and. almos,
without exception, Of negligible i'm.
portance.
This condition is due to two things
Incidence and slavery to tradition
The delay. linger and wait" system
has now beer in vogue for 81 lone
that 1t has acquired the almost i'm
pregnable authority Of an "unwritten
law" while this is made still more
binding by the attitude of the train
ers. Who demand an unconscionaole
time in which to prepare a horse to
race. and then. in proportion to the
time thus expended, rae him to a
very limited extent.
The system abroad is Very different.
There the racing seaso Is much long
er, while winter racing is also one OF
I41S 1AOSI !ulPOA A0Il pd4lS VI TIE p1O.
gram. The latter kind Of sport Is
naturally dependent. to a considerable
degree. upon the favors which Boreas
is pleased to extend. but every adj
vantage is taken Of all that he may
vouchsafe. and as a result racing IL
carried on day after day. week after
week, and month after month In
Europe when the trotters in this coun-
try are laying by. absolutely idle.
OF course, SO far as winter racing is
concerned. Russia naturally has the
call. for there real winter usually sets
in early in the fall-usually in Octo.
ber-and thereafter the snow stays on
the ground until the next April, and
sometimes even until May. Indeed,
the writer, when he visited Russia las,
spring. although he did not arrive
there until May 4. found plenty OF
snow banks still remaining in and
around Moscow. and rode for mile.
through a country covered with q cou.
pie Of feet Of It. Moscow and st
Petersburg are the w great racing
centers of the land of the GEAR. and Of
these two Moscow is the pre-eminen,
one. the track and grounds Of the I'm.
perial Trotting club there being thu
most magnificent in any country de.
voted exclusively to trotting racing
Every year an immense sum Of none,
is hung up there to be contested for
and this is about equally divided be
tween h winter and the summer sea
sons. although of late years the mos
important races. most particularly tn,
great annual Trotting Derby, are con
tested in the summer, over the dirt.
The Moscow and St. Petersburg
tracks are constructed so that racini
may be given over them in any sort o
weather. rain or shine, hot or cold
They have brick foundations. surfaced
with a coating Of dirt. composed large
ly Of sand, which no rain is hare
enough to put out Of commission, al
though at times a series IT heav,
showers puts 1t into horrible condition
Last spring I saw horses race at Mos
COW over a track which in spots wa
almost completely covered with water
that the horses feet and sulky wheel
sent whirling and splashing through
the air in sheets. until at the end 0
a race horses and drivers alike wer