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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (June 7, 1903)
Popularity of the Driving Horse Unabated Members of the Tri-City Amateur Driving Club and Their Horses Snap Shots Made at the Sprague Street Track, Omaha, by a Staff Photographer During an Afternoon of Practice for One of the Racing Matinees mm 1 11ILE Omaha has In past years IV I Wanted of tho number of fine 11 horses owned by residents of the city, there lire today mora good horses owned and kept in the city than ever before. The residents of Omalw. who first Invested In fine horse flesh natu rally turned their attention to racing- stock, and on the grand circuit and la the minor racing clubs an Omaha horse was no nov elty, but the Investment never paid from a ruclng standpoint, and It never does, as a business. Kacers, either of the harness or Saddle class, are only valuablo as establisu ing families or breeds which produce good Individuals which can be used as roadsters end drivers, und while the training for the track Is necessary In order to establish the eminence of a breed or family, It is in the sale of horses which have never made re markable records, but w filch possess many of the qualities of the good ruce horso that tho breeder finds remuneration for the largo expenditures he is required to maks in order to prove the quality of his stock. The Omaha horse fancier has passed ths stage, where he desires t". own a phenom enally speedy horse, v. hnso sole claim to notice is thut upon an especially arranged course, under tho hands of a trained Jockey or trainer, it can "do a inilo" in a few sec onds more or leas than t:lW. What the ad mirer of hoi.! nestrcs today Is an animal Which, possessing sored in more than aver ago degree, has othrr qtialtlics which ma Us Mm a useful horse on Hi r.wd and an at tractive Individual from an aesthetlo standpoint. With tho Increase In the Interest in fins horses among the residents of Omaha aid vicinity, and some of theso false concep tions of the horse to combat, a number of horse fanciers a year ago conceived ths Idea of forming a club or association which would have for Its object the Improvement of tho quality of horses owned In the clt and a dissemination of information on ths subject of horses, especially those used In harness, and as a result the Trl-Clty Aim. ieur Driving club was organised, with meia- .... 5 - t H r rrr M r few-.. 4 K n "I FRKD rAFFKKRKHGKU AND TUK KID, r AiAiSjr- V, 3 i TO II DENNISON AND JIM BEATTV. CLINTON BRIGG3 AND MACDINE FLOYD J. CAMPCKLL, BKCKETAMV OF THE CLUB. AND ROY V. ' " " " - 1 . . ...-. . J .,' ! - ....... .i NORCOTT AND IREY WITH ELACKSTRATIL DO. BOQUET WITH MAYDAY. KHUt vrr.r.'ir:.i.v AND v.'ll'E. hers from the cities of Omaha, South Omaha and Council Bluffs, to the number of about seventy-five. The uinalcur feature of the club is pr vldod for and protected by throe rules, which aro rigidly enforced. Tho first pro vides against the selling of any pools or tlHj perniUnk.n of gambling in any other form on the races. Thia removes the great dan ger of professionalism, and holds the riv cing events of tho club to the interest that crows out of tho pure sport afforded. An other rulo forbids the Kle ct any intoxi cating liquor on tu c rounds. This is not essentially a feature of professional sport, but it is thought wine by the members to remove every objectionable feature possi ble, in order that the standing oX the club may be maintained at tho highest A third ruls prorldes that each horse In a race must be driven by tho owner, or by some member of the club acting for bin Theso three rules preserve tho amatror spirit in Us purity, and have operated to remove every possible suspicion of pirofuo slonallsm. They have also added roucb te tho interest of the races among people who love to seo a pood horse race, but so do not caro to watch the maneuvers of pro fessional drivers for, advantage. Club members aro well pleased with them aad feel that they will do much to perpetuus the c'.ub. Not every member of the club Is a horse owner, but amonj the seventy-five thore aro owned about fifty horses which sre considered by their owners as of sufficient spee I to enter the contents of the club. These contests, or matinees, as they are rlll. aro held on the second sad fourth Saturday of each month, for five months. Tho Sprague street track, at Bprai ne and Twentieth streets, has been leaded by the club for theso events, and hus been refitted and Improved In many rnspect. fi that it now has one of th best half-uule tracks In the west and i . '.k V r . 4 ' U'fMkU' V -.Jtri ample accommodations for a'.l who desire to attend the bi-weekly matinees. One of tho Interesting facts that have de veloped since tho formation of the club Is that among the members, as also among horse owners of tho city who have not yet enrolled their names upon the b 'ok, the piieer Is much preferred to the horse whose natural gait In a trot. This Is ex plained by the fact that nil 'T the horses which are owned by people interested lit this form of amusement and recreation aro used as driving horses in the city, wliero the javed streets Injure the feet and le. Of horses. It has been foun 1 that tho pacel can travel longer upon these hard roads without injury than the trotting horse, as the former strikes the p ivem -nt with a sort of gliding movement, while the litter pounds it squarely, the shock being much lighter in the former caso than In the latter. Tor this reason tho grenter number of horses entered In tho contests of the club aro pacers, nlthouKh. as a rule, there Is no discrimination, all events being open equally to trotters or pacci m. In the matinees of the driving club there are no classes as upon the regular raco track Hiid "marks" and "nvords" do not receive consideration In making up the races. In lieu of thU the horses arc divided into groups known as "A," "It," "C," etc. previous to a matinee the members of the club are requested to enter as many horses lor the races as they may ne.ure, nnti men the board of managers, who take the place Of the stewards upon the tegular race tracks, Inspect the animals and from wh it they know or can learn of their ability place the horses In one of theso groups with other horses of equal ah Illy. In pi icing a horse In group the speed of the horse is not alone taken lot consideration, but the ability of tho driver. 8 mo very fast horses are driven by men who cinnot get the speed out of them on a race course. For this reason a horse owned one year by one driver may be In a high class when the next year after passing Into tho handg CLOSE WORK AROUND Till: ISA ST TURN. -.-nsw - -"i-i C. E. MACKAYE OX ANOTHER TACK. ONE OF TIIR MANY HANDSOME EcJL'lPAGES BEEN AT THE TRACK. A I, RUSSELL AND POVERTY. jr. I - mi 'i; !-r It f- - ..-t i ' i " -K. 'i , ! r. A L. F. CitOFOuT AND GOYKUNOR TAYLOR, C. E. MACKAYE AND TONY W. CLINTON BKIGGS DOWN TO BUSINESS. C. C. KENDELL AMD BLUGEN. W. W. UMSTED AND WIFE. of another owner It may be in a 1 w.T one. This plan is in keeping with the Idea of training, not only tho horses, but the drivers, in tho care and management of horses, and with but one year of tho plan In operation it has ul ready produced re sults which might never have beer, secured had the owners not been brought Into direct contact with their fellows. Since tha organisation of the club there has been something of a change In the ldenl of Omaha horse fanciers. When the club was first organized there was a tendency on tho part of many persons to look to style as the thin;? ta be require! of all horses purchased for driving In the city. Today there Is r.o diminution In the desire for style, but, coupled with It and equally insisted upon, is speed. With style and speed a horse can be sold in Otoaha to advantage, and size, that which a few years ago was considered abso lutely essential to a driving horse, is not so much required. For this reason some of the most admired horses la the city are between 15 und 15Vi hands high, and a roadster does not have to he at least 16 hards high to find a purchaser. Taking the list of horses entered for the matinee yes terday it will be seen that color is another feature which Is considered immaterial. For many years the dark bay was the fashionable color for driving horses, but today there are almost an equal number of blacks, while the browns and sorrels com bined are almost equal in number to bays. The affairs of the club are handled by a board of officers, which at tho present time Is not complete, J. M. Arnold, who was elected president this year, having removed from the city and his successor not having been chosen. Tho vice president of the dab, who is now filling the office of presi dent, Ifl E. 8. narroll of South Omaha; Thomas B. McPherson of South Omaha U tresue, and Floyd J. Campbell of Omaha secretary. Each matinee is in the hands of a special committee, which Is appointed at the close of tho preceding matinee.