The New York herald., 1921-05-27
ny HENRY v. KIN

The historic Metropolitan Handicap
will be run this afternoon at Belmont
Park and not since It's inaugural in 1891
has II had such fine entry. Twelve
OF the best handicap horses in training
have been named overnight to start and
even II there are several withdrawals II
still will be the best field that ever went
forth TO do battle In the famous stake
All % those entered have great speed
and class and so nicely has Walter ).
Nosburgh, tho official handicapper. ad-
justed the v.ights that expert horsemen
we-s up the proverbial tree yesterday
IN rerar rd &c the probable winner.
Because OF his recordbrealSing per-
formance on Tuesday Eternal is likely
20 90 10 the post favo-ite. He Is in with
1914 pounds and II the track Is dry will
fly. But hts opponents will fly too, and
the vcto- probably will earn record as
well as 'he rich purse and the fame that
goes With Il. All of the horses entered
will have a host of supporters, with
Harry s,nclair's pair, Mad Halter and
Cirrus: Geo-ge w. Lofts on Watch, j.
S. Cosder's Blazes, Mrs. Wilfrid Vial's
Audacious Walter ]. Salmon's Careful,
Harry Pavne whitneys DR.. Clark. Law
renee "ate-bury's Sennings Park,
Charles S;oneham's Yellow Hand and
the Quincy Stables Capt. Alcock pre-
IeTTeQ 1T the OTueT Hdlltu.
Bon Homme was nominated by the
Xaiapa Farm and Eternal by j. w. Nc
Clelland and whether or not they will
be coupled had not been decided upon
last night Kimball Paterson trains both
OF them
The track was in fairly good condi-
tion yesterday and horsemen who stable
there say it ought to be in tiptop condi-
tion for the big race to-day.
Big Crowd Expected.
With fine weather one OF the largest
crowds that ever visited the course will
be present The park always was popu-
lar on big handicap days and drew tre-
nendous crowds. but this season IL will
be much more popular. Since last sea-
son the mammoth plant has been re-
constructed until now 1t looks like an
entirely different place. The grand
stand has been raised and iengthcned
and is now the largest on any race
course in the world. It will seat nearly
10000.
August Belmont president of the as
sociation. was enthusiastic over the new
plant yesterday. He entertained tho
members OF the press at the park and
spoke informally OF the hopes OF the or
ganization 70 establish a great trial
ground for the thoroughbred. on which
distance races would be features. He
made a special plea foi the Belmont
Stakes. not because II WIS named in
honor OF his father, but because OF what
II stood for in the way OF tradition and
historical association. having been run
since 1857. thus rendering II the oldest
three-year-old feature in thu United
States
After citing the fact that the Belmont
Stakes has always been a real test for
threc-year-oldS having been originally
run at a mile and threc-quarters. and
that Il had been won by our greatest
horses. Major Belmont said:
we inherited the Belmont Stakes
from Morris Park. ard tho evsnt has n
character and distinction rot possessed
by similar tes's. some OF which are
known as Derbi-. N Aail II a Derby
would be a m!snor,n There Is Ken
lucky Derby. and IL is an excellent race.
though the di,tance Is mile and Il
quarter and below the true Derby dis
tance. which is a mile and a half. Then
there are the Canadian Derby and the
Brooklyn Derry, while II Is tho custom
for the county fair people whsn they
have a race over three-qua4-ers OF n
mile to designate II az a Derby. The
name. therefore. means nothing in this
country.
The thing for us to do IN 20 preserve
the Belmont Stakes as a great eliminating
test for three-year-olds. not only for this
section. but for the entire country. The
Belmont Of 1923 will have an added
value of $4,000. and ought 10 attract the
best horses from all parts OF the Union.
The assistance Of the press IN furtherInE
this is Welcomed