THE RACE BETWEEN FOX AND DRAKE.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1565, 11 August 1873, Page 4

THE RACE BETWEEN FOX AND DRAKE.

The sporting correspondent "ofjkhe Qtpgo Times furnishes the following particulars of this -event : — ■ :■.■-■ ■.'■■': : -V On Saturday afternoon last, the rae9 between Fox and Drake, for the Championship of ' New Zealand, came off on the North Recreation Ground, and was well patronised. The w.eather,.^as'.,ali,....that could be desired, the , sun r : shining out briskly the whole of the' afternoon. Hundreds^ of people were seen to be wending their way towards the scene of action at an early hour, and by the time ,the first event was run off, there must have been nearly 2000 people on the ground. Great • excitement prevailed amongst the backers of each man, and it was not until the time for starting the first heat that any, reliable betting could be ascertained. It was then evident that Fox was most in favor, but many would ; beba3kers fought shy of laying the slight odds that were asked for, viz., 5 to 2.' The backers of Drake, however, were content with taking evens on the on the first heat-— l5O yards— knowing that he had the. , advan? tage of places in this, event, and that he was more at home at that particular distance. It was some time . before a clear course was made, and hence the delay at starting, but when both men appeared on the course the public seemed to collect their senses, and soon took, up their places to witness the race. Both -men looked in splendid condition. : . Drake was the first to put in an appearance, and was soon surrounded by his- partisans. Fox, attended by his painstaking trainer, Austin, followed shortly, and received quite an ovation from the public. At the. word (( ready," both men toed 'the scratch, ityrt in his eagerness to get away, Fox overstepped his'bound, and 'was penalised one yard therefor. At' the second attempt, Mr Dowse let them go, and it ">vas soon evident that Fox had the race in hand. ,,; He got away with a splendid start, and be^ fore half the distance had been covered was heading by five yards.. Drake,;'however, put on a spurt, and lessened the distance between them ; but, although he gamely struggled on, Fox took the'ta'pe a good two yards in front of his opponent. Time; 18 sees. — a very creditable ■•' performance considering the heavy state of the ground. Backers of Drake looked very ."down" at the result, whicji was booked as a certainty, for him, : . , Without much delay, the 100 yards course was marked out, and both men were quickly at the scratch; Fox looked the " picture of confidence," and, as it proved, he allowed his backers not the slightest uneasiness, as he took the lead from start to finish, and won a good race by about two yards. Time, lOfsec. „ It was now unnecessary for Drake to I|h6w out again, but Fox, for the benefit of those who had bets on the three events, walked over for the 200 yards;