The Washington herald., 1917-04-01
BY GEORGE b. MORRIS,


Tomorrow will see the usherinE in Of
racing in the East. with the beginning of
a twelve-day meeting at the Bowie
course. Already over one thousand horses
are quartered at the track. and many
owners have been compelled to seek ac-
comodations elsewhere. OF those who are
quartered outside of the course, there
are about 250 horses at Marlboro
Benning. and the Gentlemen's Driving
Park. All of these horses are fit and
ready to face the barrier.
The warm weather OF the past few
weeks has worked wonders with the
horses and manv owners claim that
never before in the history Of racing have
horses been so well trained up to the
minute as they are now.
Track Superintendent "Dick" Pending
has the Bowie course in grand shape,
and he stated today that he expected
to sec many anew track records broken
at the Forthcoming meeting. Bright anG
early Saturday morning horse owners
had their steeds out on the track. and
from the manner in which they worked,
1t looks as though this meeting will be
an epoch-making one.
Horsemen are arriving from the South
where they have raced all winter. and
as result. local hotels are filed.
Edward Trotters arrived with his
stable yesterday from Charleston where
he has wintered his horses. He reports
them all In excellent condition. and ac-
counts for this fact by reason of having
his horses in saddle all winter. The
most prominent OF the rrotter string
the sprinter, A. y. Akin, who raced Sc
successfully in these parts last year.
Black Broom. McAdoo, Arravan and
Troitus. the former is son of Broom
stick and Bell OF Troy. In all probability
A. n Akin will start in the Bowie in
augural on Monday.
Top O the Morning. the crack weight
bearing sprinter. is one of the most for
midabe candidates for the Bowie In
augural that has trained at Bennings.
He is in the stable William Shields is
handling for Paul Powers. Top O. the
Morning was lame after his last victory
at Laurel in October. but Shields brought
hir1 20 the post again at Bowie in No
Yember, and although he did not win. he
showed that he had recovered the use Of
his bad leg by shouldering 40 pounds
ard running a bangup fourth to Yankee
Notions. Kewessa and Fruit Cake in the
Eclipse High Weight Handicap at six
furlongs.
Realizing that 1t would be foolish to
permit a horse OF Top O. the Morning 8
, greet size to FL UP over winter. Shields
hcs Fopt I'm IN temrerate dict. Never
| theIess the big chestnut Is well rounded
and smooth coated. And he is Showing
the effect Ct good attention eve; t1Te
ne goes out on Benning track by run
ming like the wind.
No Shortage of jockeys.
! The distance runner OF the Powers.
Shields combination being readied for the
Bowie meeting is Fels a son of Semproni-
Gus and Binda. and a winner in Canada
last season. This one has not started
since October. He pulled up lame at
Laurel after a race Of one mile and n
| furlong, but he Is galloping soundly, and
Shields believes he will show his best
form on the soft cushioned Bowie track.
That there will be no shortage Of
| Jockeys of first-class caliber Is shown bv
| the fact that nearly all the stars who
. rode in the South this winter are on
hand, perhaps. with the exception Of
Tommy McTaggart and Willie Crump.
| Both OF these boys will remain at Essex
! Park. Hot Springs. until the meeting
closes The latter has made n wonderful
record this winter in the South. while
| Tommy McTagGart has shown his old
! time form. That McTaggart is perhaps
the best boy riding at the weight today
is shown by the fact that he has turned
down several contracts ranging from
| But McTaggart believes he can do bet
| ter as a free lance, and has held off max
ing any engagements for the coming year,
though it is said he may later reconsider
| some of his offers.
! Guy Bedwell. better known as Wizard"
| Bedwell is located at the Bowie course
with a large stable of horses, and II Is
sure thing that you will see the green
and polka dots in front on many occa-
sions
The Washington. Baltimore and Ann
apolis Railway Company have purchased
several new cars that will be put into
operation during the races. and they
promise to give the very best service
possible. In previous years they have
been slightly handicapped, owing to tine
shortage Of cars. but on every occasion
have done their very best to facilitate
! transportation service. There will be no
waiting this year, as Manager Joyce has
promised to see to the service personally.
and this will be a guarantee that the
company will live up to their promises.
| Several new mutuel machines have
been installed during the winter months
o. the course, and IN addition retinue
OF clerks, numbering at least thiI ~ men,