Sentiment Influenced Matt Winn: Manager of Kentucky Jockey Club Tells Why He Accepted Position--Plans to Live in Covington., Daily Racing Form, 1919-03-25

article


view raw text

SENTIMENT INFLUENCED MATT WINN Manager of Kentucky Jockey Club Tells Why He Accepted Position Plans to Live in Covington CINCINNATI March 24 Something be ¬ sides money persuaded me to take the position of vicepresident and general manager if the Kentucky Jockey Club remarked Colonel Matt J Whin upon his arrival here last week to take charge of the Latonia plant When I came west a couple of weeks ago lu resumed it was for the sole purpose of getting my money out of the sale of Churchill Downs to the new corporation I had been in the east for so long that I Ijad become to sort odpok upon it as my home V In fact I had intended to put Jn most of my time there after disposing of my I uIsville holdings But when I got to Louisville I saw that the pro ¬ moters of the new idea were in a little trouble and I volunteered to help them out Someone then suggested that I become interested in ithe new plan Then I got to thinking I remembered how eighteen years ago I became interested in the New Louisville Jockey Club how I went to Yonkers when the Jockey Club would not grant dates to Mr Butler Juarez and later Laurel flashed through my mind mindIt It was in Kentucky where I had made my first turf success and it came to me that I believed that I really owed the sport in my home state some ¬ thing It was then that I decided it was my duty to stay at home and help the sport here if it was possible for me to do soi Therefore here I am and here I intend to stay stayLatonia Latonia the largest property of the new Ken ¬ tucky Jockey Club naturally will get most of my time Lexington and Churchill Downs will run along as always and I will devote the greater part of my efforts to Latonia I came here to build up not tear down and the residents of Chi ciunati Newport and Covington can feel assured that I will give the best in me to see that the sport flourishes at their track trackTO TO CATER TO THE PUBLIC PUBLICI I do not want the patrons of Latonia to think that alien ownership prevails and that the old race course is simply a money making proposition We are here to disprove these theories and that is the reason why I intend to become a resident of Coving ton I want to mix and mingle with the people and find out their desires and wishes and cater to them I have always been friendly with the horse ¬ men but the public comes first for it makes it possible for the horsemen to compete for the big prizes which they are now offering in Kentucky The public must be taken care of and if spending money for improvements and seeing that the sjHjrt is kept clean will take care of them then the new management at Latonia is going to do that thatPurses Purses at Latonia this year will not be less than 1000 The new management must necessarily feel its way and the directors believe that for the first meeting that size of a minimum purse Is a generous offering When we go along and find out what we can do the horsemen can feel assured that profitsI they will get the lions share of the profits I believe the stake program for this spring while not formulated by myself is an excellent one Nine highclass stakes with a total added money valuation of 57000 are down for decision No stake has less than 3000 added and this amount goes upward to 15000 the amount added to the Derby I believe that horsemen will enter as liberally here as they have done in the Lexington and Louisville events Kntries to the stake events close Saturday March 20 Representatives of the Latonia Jockey Club will be at every track and horsemen can make their entries there thereColonel Colonel Whin inspected Latonia and pronounced it in perfect condition He paid a splendid tribute to John Hnchuieister the former general manager and said that lie had done wonders with the old track It is safe to say that Colonel Winn recog ¬ nizes the importance of the Latonia course and will do all in his power to enhance its prestige


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1919032501/drf1919032501_1_5
Local Identifier: drf1919032501_1_5
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800