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Show GREAT INTEREST IN 1910JWSTAKES More Horses Than Ever in Training for Hie Coming Season. HILDRBTH HOPES TO WIN BIG RACES WITH SHILLING Brighton Beach Will Be a Busy Place; California Is Uncertain. BY JAMES DOCKERALL. By Loased Wlro to Tho Tribune. NEW YORK, Feb. 6. Nearly BOO horacs are being trained for Uio opening open-ing of tho turf season in the east, and more money will bo given away in stakes and purses this spring than for many years past. In order to induce owners of tho best racers to enter freely In the Plmllco stake features and ovcr-nlght racos, tho Maryland officials havo announced an-nounced that no raco on tho flat will havo less than $500 added to the Sweepstake, Sweep-stake, and that all steeplechases will bo worth fi00 or more. Tho Prenkness stake, which was the big feature at Plmllco Plm-llco last year, will be fore three-year-olds and the distance ono mile. Two weeks previous to tho opening of tho eastern turf season last year there were but 125 horses being trained. At the present time there are 125 at Graves-end, Graves-end, 220 at Shecpshoad Bay; 55 at Belmont park and 100 moro In Maryland and Kentucky. This does noL Include thoso thoroughbreds which will bo shipped east from California. Jacksonville, Jackson-ville, Tampa nnd Junrez. Verily, the racing sport Is going to prosper this ycur. Sam C. Hlldreth will largely rely this year upon his Invincible pair, Fltz-Hor-bert and King James, to keep his colors to tho fore, while the stable of James R. Kceno has two sterling bluo-bloods In Mnskette nnd Sweep. It Is a certainty cer-tainty that the odds will shorten visibly when these entries aro posted in a bunch. Among the entries for tho Suburban Su-burban aro Ballot. Helmet, M.oskctte, Grassmerc, Dinna 'Ken and Olambala. Bullot did miserably In England, but Mr. Kcene lias high hopes for the horso in America this year. Nothing kills a Jockey as oulckly as drink. It ruins his norvo, spoils his judgment, makes fat and throws him Into In-to bad company. You all remember Patsy McCuo, tho phenomenal youngster, who, in the old days, seven or eight years ago used to pull five- out of six mounts to victory. Patsy Is ono of tho examples. At an age when most boys aro playing shlnney .Patsy fell for the grape and died from his excesses. In thoso days, after a good day's work, McCuo Mc-Cuo would buy a thousand dollars' worth of champagne at various Broadway Broad-way cafes. Barney Shrelber, Uio California breeder, breed-er, was talking tho other day about the evils of drink. "During tho last meet at Liatonla," said Shrelber, "I jvas standing against the .rail one day when a broken-down, weazened mito of miserable humanity tackled me for aone spot. I gavo It to him and then ho "said: 'Guess you don't recognize me, Mr. Shrelber. I used to ride your horses for you.' I did recognize him then, but ho wp3 completely changed. He was seedy and sodden from drink and I recalled that I knew the time when bo had $125,000 In currency in his own possession pos-session which ho had won by riding. The kid. for ho is scarcely moro than twenty-three twenty-three now, may get back on his feet again, but I doubt It. " Therefore I won't reveal his name," Tod Sloan went the wine and actress route till he got In bad repute. Danny Mahcr has lived a clean life, although English ale and London cham-pagno cham-pagno arc causing him to gain fat so fast that 1910 will see tho end of his riding rid-ing days. George Odom, ono of tho cleverest clev-erest jockeys ever seen on the American track, was. also one of the wisest He suvod his money and now is the owner of a stable. Walter Miller oult with $300.-000. $300.-000. Arthur Redfern. who had to quit riding on account of his weight, saved well into tho thousands. In retaining Jockey C. IT. Shilling at $15,000 to ride for his stable this year, Sam Hlldreth is now In a position to cope with August Belmont and . James R. Kcono for the big prizes of the turf. Under Un-der tho terms of the conditional agreement. agree-ment. Shilling is to ride for Hlldreth from April 1 to Novomber 30. This Is further fuel to tho big turf war. for Belmont has already engaged Eddie Dugan and Kceno has Butwcll under contract. This trinity of Jockeys constltuto tho cream of tho class, although Junrez may turn out a star before the meet there Is over. It will be remembered that Shilling Jumped Into notoriety last fall by stabbing stab-bing his employer, R. L. Thomas, tho Kentucky turfman. Thomas recovered, and the case against Shilling was practically prac-tically dropped. R. T. Wilson. 'Jr., the. moving Epirlt In the Saratoga Springs Racing association, was In New York today. Wilson Is tho mainspring In the liberal policy movement for Saratoga. "I want to make tho meeting at Saratoga Sara-toga the most notable In America." said he today, while we sat in a .Broadway hotel discussing racing In general. "I am willing to spend money without end to do this, becaiiHO I bellevo the ro-turns ro-turns will Justify It. Nothing cm bo said for racing In California. Of course, Juarez and Florida aro good for winter meets, but I hope to eclipse them all at the Spa this year. Tho general fund for tho meet, obtained by Voluntary subscription, sub-scription, Is moro than 5100,000 already." Every section of the United States, so far as breeding farms and trainers aro concerned. will he represented at Brighton Beach this summer. The total number of nominations for tho Brighton Beach races ls G20. Secretary Jackson of the Brighton Beach association, ls pleased beyond expression at the outlook. Among the nominators, with tho number of horses they have entered, aro the following: fol-lowing: II. P. "Whitney, 5: Thomas Collins, Col-lins, 4; Barney Shrelber, 12: R. L, Thomas, Thom-as, .6: Sam Hlldreth, 57; J. E. Madden. 1; Edgar Madden. 4: James R. Keonc, 37; John A. Drake. 10: George Odom, 17; Mrs. H. H. Sclby, C: James Gaffney, 0; W. II. Flzer, 21; F. A. Forsythc. 10; Woodford Clay. 11; T. C. McDowell, C; R. N. Smith, 7: Jamc3 Butler. 12; E. R. Bradley. 13. The above constitute only a few of the most Important. Wo note that our ohr-tlme friend E. E. Smathers has apparently dropped racing for good. In the old days Smathers and ,Drako- were two of. tho mainstays. The first foal of tho year at Clarence Mnckay's Kingston stud, near Lexington. Ky., ls a bay filly by Meddler out of Flocarllnc. dam of Master Robert. Jockey Harry Spenc6r. who has been riding In Germany for two or three years, will ride In America this year, lie can make 115 pounds. With the turf season drawing nearer every day, there has been a steady string of horses arriving at the track stables from Kentucky, Tennessee. Virginia, Canada and Nqw Jersey. Tho odd thing Is that they all look good. "Tom" Welch has a barn full of two-year-olds, and he can point to at least half a dozen that look llko stake colts. "Joe" Le-malrc, Le-malrc, who owns the horse Spooncr. which won at Junrez tho other day, and received a boost for so doing, claims that a couple of youngsters that he bought from Grren Morris Inst fall will cut some figure In racing circles If they live up to their looks and early reputations. Lemalro Is a very enthusiastic horseman, horse-man, nnd would like to have tho best horses in training if he could get them. Whllo he has quite a string at the pres- cnt time, ho Intends to thin It out in the spring and only keep tho best. Like "Fred" Johnson, ho wants stake horses and handicap candidates. The extreme scarcity of exercising lads is proving a serious problem at tho eastern track stables. The trainers have been complaining for several weeks. When the weather breaks so that their charges will havo to be trained In tho open. It will bo a want that will prove a menace. When wo consider that a good exercising lad can command $100 a month this scarcity seems unaccountable. unaccount-able. Bob Boyle, who trained tho horses of the Prospect stable last season, should no doubt do well In tho cross-country events this year, as two of the horses ho now has in his charge at the Bon-nlngs' Bon-nlngs' courso como pretty near to being the champions in their respective divisions. divi-sions. Thistlcdale will be confined to tho events over the short course, and Waterway Water-way ls conceded by all as having a first-class first-class chanco with any "chaser" In the country over the full course. On February Feb-ruary 1 he took over the flat horses of the Krauss stable. |