South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-07-04
Grand Circuit Season
Opens Today in Ohio

CLEVELAND, o.. July Sum
day the curtain will go up on the
1920 season of the Grand Circuit
harness racing.
The season will open at the North
Randall track, Cleveland's suburban
racing plant, and, after a week Of
racing, the crack drivers Of the ma
ton will move their PAGERS and trot-
tiers u Toledo for the second meet
ing OF the year Then Kalamazoo.
Mich, will see the third meeting of
the Big Ring" and from Kalama-
zoo the caravan will move 10 Co
lumbus, O. The season, comprising
sixteen weeks OF racing, will close at
Atlanta, Ga, Oct %.
Two $1,000 stakes for trotters.
the Ohio for 2:0S trotters and the
Tavern Steak" for 2:14 trotters.
will be raced off during the week at
Randall and these big events will
have large as well as high class
fields. other early closing events
will be the $4,000 Edwards Stake
for PAGERS eligible TO the 2:OS class,
and the $4,000 Fasig stake for three
year-old trotters. These will be the
feature events on the weeks pro-
gram.
Many Noted Drivers.
There are now over four hundred
trotters and PAGERS stabbed at the
North Randall track, the stables of
Tommy Murphy. Walter Cox, Lou
Mcdonald having been in training
there for ten days. Then there IS
Pop" Geers with his big string
from Memphis. Tenn; ]. L. Dodge
from Lexington, Ky; Charley Val
entine. the Columbus. O., trainer;
Ben White, who has a stable of
crack trotting colts, and many
other leading lights Of the harness
horse world.
Mr.. Geers arrived at North Ran
dali more than two weeks ago, and
the Silent Man" appears 10 have
one of the best strings Of horses
that he ever had in charge. The
Grand Old Man of the trotting horse
world is nearly seventy years old,
and the many serious accidents
which he has met during his career
have left him quite badly crippled.
But Geers is the Geers of old when
il Genes to driving a tight finish,
and will have something to say
about the division of the money
along the Big Ring again this year.
He has a large and classy string of
trotters and PAGERS and the North
Randall railbirds who have been
watching them in their work since
Pops arrival from Memphis are
predicting that Geers will play a
prominent part in the seasons rae
ing.
Tommy Murphy Back.
Tommy Murphy. leading money
winning driver on the Grand Circuit
last year, is back this year with a
stable thai looks especially good.
The Poughkeepsie reinsman has
been stocking up with the best trot-
ters and PAGERS that money would
buy and he appears TO have several
in his lineup that look to have a
good chance to connect with the big
money this year.
In the four-year- gelding Peter
Manning. 2:06 1-2, Murphy. has a
trotter that should cause much
trouble for the stake horses this
season. Peter Manning trotted to
his record at Lexington last fall.
and stepped the last half right at
a minute. At that time he was in
the stable OF Harry Putnam, the
Libertyville, H., trainer, but Muir
ply lost no time in getting in touch
with the owner and he soon had the
bay gelding in his stable after hand
ing over a check for $21,O00-the
largest price ever paid for a three
year-old gelding. Peter Manning
has been working to perfection this
spring and if he has no bad luck
promises to be a sensation.