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Show .Unselfish Offers of Rich Stakes Are Big Help to Racing. Says Dockerall. BY JAMES DOCKER ALL. By Leased Wire to The Tribune. NEW YORK, May J3. Trotting horsemen nnd followers of- the grand circuit will be pleased to hear that Sccrolary Kline of t he Furniture City Driving club. Grand liapids, has nol only reopened tlio $5000 ComstocK purse for 2:12 class pacing, which failod to fill originally, but has received re-ceived a total of twenty-seven entries for the event. After the stake failed lo fill and it was announced that it would be reopened, re-opened, "liorsemon wondered why no announcement an-nouncement hud been mado to that effect; ef-fect; yet the result wired shows that Klino "hns been busy. That the Grand Kapids feature pacing pac-ing event has received as many entries en-tries as have all similar purses down the big line, once more demonstrates t,hc fact that grand circuiters are with the leading citizens of tho Furniture City, ami it was merely a matter of overlooking or negligence that the purse failed to got the" backing it now lias. Among the entries for the purse arc Akar, Albert If., Bill Williams. Bran, nam, Baughman, Buster Brown, Butcher Boy, Capitola, Countess Marie, Druien, Dixie Lou, hlrncst, Fannie Stanton, Hal Akin, Joe Patehen IT., .Fudge Ward, Kirbv Slar. Lake Side Hal, Mattic March, Mile Wilcox, Nellie Temple, On Time, Peter Preston. Peter the Second, Sec-ond, Pickles. Sir JR., Teddy C. and Vernon Ver-non MeKinncy. Rich Purses Help Sport. There is nothing better for the advancement ad-vancement and popularity of trotting sport than the offering of rich purses to campaigning stables, provided they are given under terms and conditions which show real liberality and will serve to indicate that the donors' honest hon-est motive is the benefit of the sport and breeding industry rather than merely pecuniary gain. On the other hand, nothing has done more harm to racing than the periodical periodi-cal appen ranee of sportsmen who, under un-der the guise of sportsmanship, base all considerations upon tho ultimate pecuniary income, for it has been repeated' re-peated' demonstrated that no sport jias ever become a success or served its purpose when gain and money-making money-making have been (he main effort and ehiof end of the promoters. The announcement that Plattsburg will imitate Chatcaugay, and give a $10,000 handicap, surely will bo as welcome lo the trotting horse world as was the Chatcaugay event if the conditions offered by tho donors impress im-press the future patrons and tho horse public that it is really a race for the benefit of the turf and harness horse racing. One of the most peculiar conditions of this new handicap is that the race! will go if there be ten starters, yet it calls for the preliminaries, in each of which six horses may be. qualified for the final. Under the Plattsburg plan, if the association is lucky enough to secure twenty-five starters, it can have a handicap race, preliminary or final for four days, while tho owner of any! entry cannot tell whero his horse will bo if lueJiy enough lo be qualified for the final, "for the conditions distinctly stipulate that the qualified horses can bo rehandicapped at the option of the judges. riattsburg horsemen, or rather, fair managers, have evidently been carried away either by enthusiasm or rivalry, and unless they make the sensible changes required in their conditions the same as Chauteaugay. they will make a mess of what looked like a most beneficial innovation for half-mile half-mile racing. , . A bill legalizing pari-mntucl betting in Virginia will be presented at tho next meeting of the legislature, and it will bo specific in regard to the muluol system. Mutuel Sport's Salvation, As speculating is permissible in Maryland that is, in most countios there will be an innovation this spring in the shapo of niutuels. Three machines ma-chines have been established. Jt is an experiment that will be fostered here after, as it is the intention of the Maryland Jockey club to have no book making aflor I his meeting. It is net 1 anticipated that the existing machines will get much trade while in conjunction conjunc-tion with tho bookmaking. but the management realizes that the mutuel sslem of speculation will be tho sal vation of tho sport in this country. In tho first plnce, it sidetraclis 98 per cent of the crookedness supposed to exist in connection with the sport. It shuts out the plunging better, who has been ono of the causes that have eaten into the welfare of horse racing. Probably the most, drastic improvement improve-ment it will make is the elimination of a small percentage of undesirable race track followers whoso solo occupation occu-pation is in hotels, barrooms and on street corners, and who spoke in the vilest terms of the sport and its promoters pro-moters when tho things had not gone to suit their ideas and pockets. With the bookmaker dethroned this element will cense to follow the races as a means of employment. According to the plans of the Maryland Mary-land Jockey club, the highest mutuel to bo bought will bo $10. Of courso ono man can buy many tickets, but tho dav of the plunger who could wager JO.OOO without trouble will bo over next fall at Baltimore. |