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KENTUCKY TRACKS MERGER Option Secured on Latonia and Douglas Park Courses d Stock to Be Widely Distributed ¬ Plants to Operate All Under One Management LEXINGTON Ky December 20 While nego ¬ tiations have not yrogressed to the stage of finality it is entirely probable that the Latonia race track at Covington and the Douglas 1ark race track at Louisville will shortly change ownership The Latonia Jockey Clubs fifteen hundred shares of stock and the Douglas Park Jockey Clubs twenty five hundred shares of stock now principally in the ownership of Cella Adler and Tillies of St Louis and Mrs John Condon of Chicago ChicagoWith With a view to holding control of these plants in Kentucky and operating them so that the earnings will be more equitably distributed to the horsemen who provide the racing and that the dividends to stockholders shall be reduced to the plane of the average manufacturing pr industriaLenterprise to the end that the charge that Bracing in beings com ¬ mercialized for tlie benefit of greedy track owners may be successfully refuted an option was this week secured unon the two properties by former State Senator Thomas A Combs of Lexington now a member of the Kentucky State Racing Commis ¬ sion who has the backing and supnort of practically every horse owner and horse breeder in the state and likewise of a number of prominent and well todo residents of Louisville Covington Xewport and CincinnatiSenator other cities of Kentucky and of Cincinnati Senator Combs left this morning for Washington on private business and a statement f roni him con ¬ cerning the details is not available at this time However it is known here that he secured his option from the present owners of the two plants at a meeting in Cincinnati last Tuesday nisht and that it is his general purpose to distribute the stock widely over the state The expectation is that fol ¬ lowing the purchase of these plants will come the formation of an alliance with the Kentucky Asso ¬ ciation here and tbLrXcwi Louisville Jockey Club at Louisville under which all will be operated ton the same basis as to profits which is to say that the limit of dividends will bt ten per cent or less that a limit will be placed upon the number of officials and the salaries paid them and that the added money to stakes and purses will be ma ¬ terially increased As a matter of fact this latter is already being worked out by a committee ap ¬ pointed by Chairman Camden and will take form in a recommendation to be presented it the meeting of the State Racing Commission next Monday It MondayIt is understood to be a part of the general plan that no new track will be built at Covington and that only one of the tracks may be operated at Louisville that under the control of the New Louis ¬ ville Jockey Club It is Senator Camdens idea that Kentucky should have shorter and snappier meetings with more attractive stakes and pursv holding down profits so that Kentucky will forever be a field unattractive to the greedy race truck promoter The idea in a nutshell is to inject intu race track ownership more sentiment and take out of it in the form of dividends less money This Senator Camden and Senator Combs believe ami those who are interested in breeding and racing horses believe with them will make the sport last ¬ ing and appreciated appreciatedIt It is quite likely that under this plan purses at Louisville will average Sl 00 and at Latonia 1800
