The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-07-05
HOT CONTESTS
MARK OPENING
OF RACE CARD
Crowd Gets Thrill When George S.
Falls on Back Stretch
Driver Is Injured.
BY RAHBIRD.

| BY RAILBIRD-
The midsummer celebration and
race meeting of the Mississippi
Valley Fair & Exposition opened
yesterday with an exceedingly fast
and interesting program of speed
events. Each heat of the four races
on the first afternoons program
was holly contested, the horses and
their drivers trying to win over
every inch of the ground from wire
| to wire.
! The greatest thrill of the after
noon came in the second heat of
| the fourth race, when George S,
broke a hopple and fell in the back
stretch. Flo Patch had been sent
away to bad start and was just
setting sail for position, and when
the big bay gelding fell in front of
her she crashed into the wreck.
Driver Potter was pitched several
feet in the air, but luckily fell clear
of the two horses and sustained
only a minor injury to his arm and
shoulder. Driver blackburn receiv-
ed several minor cuts and bruises
Eleven horses faced Starter Pen
dleton in the first event. Billie Lee
took an early lead in the first heat
and finished we'll out in front of
the field, but in the three succeed
ing heats. Monte Direct could not
be headed. In the third heat the
horses raced the mile in a cloud
of dust that was SO heavy they
could not be seen from the grand
stand. In the fourth heat. o. D.
II 1rTx
ner of the first heat, made a deter
mined effort to grab first place
from Monte Direct. but the little
horse from Kansas showed a phe-
nOmenal burst of speed which land
ed him home ahead, winner of the
heat and race.
Miss Ellen Todd, driven by Henry
Hawkins, showed great burst of
speed in the last quarter of each
of the three miles and won the
race from fast field of starters.
In each heat, she allowed Babola to
take the pole at the first turn and
set the pace to the last quarter,
and then she would easily trot
round the other starters. The real
race in this event was Miss Park
wood and Hazel Hall for second
money.
Glimmer, a big bay gelding from
down in South Carolina, looked to
be the class of the field in the
third race, winning the first heat
in easy fashion, but the pace set
by Bingala in the next three heat
was too fast for the southern horse
and Bingala won easily.
Many old IF 10
opinion that Dardanella was not
trying to win because of the rec
ord, but in each heat she seemed
to weaken when the pace got hot
and allowed Bingala to beat her
home.
Evenly Matched Field.
1t is seldom one sees a more
evenly matched field of horses than
the one which scored for the word +.
in the fourth race. Four of the +
seven starters have raced to rec
ords of 2:07A- In the first heat, |
the horses and drivers were trying
so hard they were scored IL times ,
before given the word. Flo Patch, /!
Kid Hall and George S. raced all /
the way, finishing the mile in a |
whipping finish.
George S. was distanced in the !
heat after the mixup with .
Flo Patch, who was placed sixth.
In the third heat, four horses
rounded the turn in to the home
stretch and raced nose and nose to
the wire. 1t looked like a dead
heat between Onward Sam and Flo +
Patch, who was finally announced
he heat winner, much to the sat
sfaction of the crowd.
Program Balanced.
Secretary Bacon has a well bal !
lnced program of vaudeville enter
aimed and novelty racing to enter
ain between heats.
The race between two four-horse
cams, hitched to Roman chariots,
vas a great novelty and furnished
plenty of excitement. The team
lriyen by the lady finished a nose
n front, winning by the exception
lily fast time of 81 second for the
lalf mile.
THE SCORE.
first Race: Gals Pace-Purse 1886. {
donte Direct, br g, by Baron I
Direct (Arnold) ....7 111:l
BILLIE Lee, CHI g, by Harris Il
Starlight CHarris) ....1 2 2 2 7
ferriIl, b g, by Teddy bear II
(Frost) 6 z
faylock, b g, by O'clock =
Clark 3 81
Red Heart, B. 3-7-5; Bingen Y
Wood, Jr-, $40; Nellie Besure, /
81; Inez Marie. 10-5-6;N Dick /
4-10-S; Teddy Mac. dis. }
Time: 2:09A, 2:1OA; 2:13A;
: Is. I
Second Race: GAIA Trot.
Purse $40.
Iiss Ellen Todd, b N, by Todd
Mac (Hawkins) ..-.....1 l !
Iiss Parkwood. br n, by
Parkwcod (Midbo) .....4 8 2
.azel Hall, blk N, by Walnut
Hall Frost} ...6 2
obola, br g. by Expedition !
lSWLn) ..--.-...-... - :
Armeta. S-6-s; Axle Emily. 5-6-4. 1
Time: 2:101z, 2:1214. 2:1314. L
bird Race: 2:24 Trot-PHrse, $50. L
i9gala, gr g, by Binjolla J..
limmer, b g. by Locanda y
(Midbo) .......13s Sc ?
ardanetla, br m, by Savola d
FotIerJ .-........--.5 . -
lliWyn. b g. by I. Harves- i
Ter CkeiIay) .3
Cecil Kirk, 4-7-4: Doctor Luster. :
As; W. G. H. SIS; Teddy bro =
ore, $50; Edgewood Thorn. 10 Z
s.; Wilbur Direct, dis. =,