22 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



RACING IN HAVANA 



By J. V. Kni[/hl 



Set ill a natural amphitheatre two miles 

 wide, which some volcanic upheaval created 

 centuries ago, stands Oriental Park, Havana's 

 new $500,000 racing plant. Hills tower 

 around it, tropical vegetation clusters in 

 groves of palm trees and lesser foliage from 

 the outer rim of the great amphitheater to the 

 very threshold of the plant itself. It stands 

 unique among the racing establishments of the 

 world, and compares favorably, so world- 

 traveled critics declare, with the great courses 

 in England and in France. Certainly there 

 are no other racing plants extant which merit 

 comparison with it. 



Coincident with its opening a few weeks ago 

 came the introduction of "the sport of kings" 

 on an auspicious scale before the sport-loving 

 Cuban public. President Menocal, U. S. 

 Minister Gonzales, the commanders of the 

 army and navy, the governor of the province 

 of Havana and the Mayor or "alcalde" of 

 Havana, all have been frequently in attend- 

 ance with members of their families and 

 suites. 



Upward of 500 horses, the pick of the thor- 

 oughbreds which are raced in winter, are 

 stabled there, and the daily programmes are 

 viewd liy crowds ranging from 2,500 to 15,000 

 persons. The Cubans have taken racing to 

 their hearts and claimed it as a sport pecu- 

 liarly their own. The whole plant at Orien- 

 tal Park, which is located in Marianao, a 

 suburb, within easy access ot the heart of the 

 city by varied means of car transportation 

 and automobile drives, stands as a monimient 

 to the genius of its promoter and vice-presi- 

 dent, H. D. Brown. The builder of the City 

 Park course in New Orleans — Moncrief Park 

 in Jacksonville, Fla., and Laurel Park, in 

 Maryland — excelled his own best efforts pre- 

 viously when he drew the plans and superin- 

 tended the construction of Oriental Park. 



With the advent of cloudless skies, which 

 happily seem destined to bring the fastest 

 track of the country to Oriental Park, racing 

 has been marked at Havana during the past 

 week by larger fields, better horses contesting 

 for the purses, and more spirited contention. 

 Track records are being established and 

 broken with daily regularitj', and Manager 

 Brown's foresight has been abundantly vin- 

 dicated in selecting as the locality for Orien- 

 tal. Park, a setting so ideal. Arrivals of 

 stables from Juarez and New Orleans have 

 swelled the quota of thoroughbreds there to 

 more than 500, and there is not a sick horse 

 on the grounds. 



The carnival season is now at its height in 

 Havana, and on Thursdays, Saturda>s and 

 Sundays, which are the "big days" at the race 

 course, due attention has been paid to this 

 feature of Cuba's winter life by the manage- 

 ment. The Queen of the Carnival, accom, 

 panied by her maids of honor and courtiers- 

 were recent guests, and on those days attend- 

 ance records at the race course were shattered. 

 The full Municipal Band played concerts. 



while President Menocal, Minister Gonzales, 

 the governor of the province and the mayor 

 of the city; Gen. Pujol, commander of the 

 army, and" other dignitaries were, as usual, on 

 the gala days, in attendance with their staffs 

 and families. In fact, there has never been a 

 racing plant in America where such unusual 

 entertainment features so readily lend them- 

 selves to adoption, and are so abundantly 

 vindicated in increased attendance, and in- 

 creased interest in the racing. 



Thursdays, which were set apart three 

 weeks ago as "society days" by the manage- 

 ment, now witness large gatherings of the 

 socially elite on the new clubhouse piazza. 

 The clubhouse itself is worth moi'e than pass- 

 ing mention. It is without doubt the finest 

 structure of its kind ever built, not excepting 

 the clubhouses on the Parisian courses. It 

 cost $50,000, and throughout its spacious and 

 beautifully-furnished salons are to be seen 

 mingling together on racing days, persons 

 prominent in the society of Havana, the 

 United States and many of the capitals of 

 Europe. 



Private dancing for club members only has 

 been inaugurated on all racing days, and a 

 fez-topped orchestra of Orientals provides 

 the music for these dances. The roster of 

 the club members is but a few pages from the 

 social register of the island. AH this, of 

 course, has helped wonderfully to establish 

 racing in Cuba on the strong and influential 

 foundation which it reserves in the category 

 of outdoor amusements. Cubans above all 

 love display' and glitter, and these features, 

 added to the racing's spectacular side, have 

 won their hearts to the "sport of kings." 



Trophies to be given away at Oriental Park, to officers 

 of the Cuban Army in Military and Cup Races. 



