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. — i Here and There on the Turf I i Florida Season Ends. Plans for Next Year. Kentucky Derby Training. i New Jamaica Rule. i v With thr» raring of Saturday the thorough I bred sport came to a conclusion at Orlando. which means that it came to a conclusion in i Florida. Reviewing the sport in Florida it is found that the only successful meeting was that of 1 the Miami Jockey Gun at ihe Hialeah course, j The Wes: Coast Jockey Club of Tampa was forced to bring its session to a sudden close before the advertised term of its racing. Then the Seminole Jockey Club was compelled to cut its purses materially to make possible the * continuance of its racing. The full meeting t was completed, but it was completed at a loss, j As for the Miami Jockey Ciub. it registered c another tremendous success and gained an alto s gether new importance on the American turf g by reason of the excellence of its racing. s Just what the harvest will be for other i it seasons cannot be foretold, but it has been t demonstrated that there will have to come t material changes in the other racing section to bring about satisfying results. It was the instant success of the Miami Jockey Club in s 1925 that induced the opening of the other j tracks, but the two that have conducted meet- a ings have not enjoyed the success that seemed . to be promised by the Miami results. And ihere may be various reason* for this failure tr succeed. 1 In the firs place there was a lack of the I same sporting spirit that dominated the racing fa of the Miami Jockey Club. The other two v meetings had all the earmarks of financitl i ventures rather than sporting ventures. It was ii in apparent from the beginning that these meet o ings were conceived with an idea : f reaping some of the financial earn that came to Miami. I Revenues lhat came by the excellence of the t sport that was furnished rather than a venture b hat looked only to that revenue. C At both Tampa Downs and Orlando racing r was c inducted with indue haste and over v racing grounds that were not really ready for v the sport. There was a deplorable rush to be in line for th1 golden harvest and the harvest ■ in did not come. It is fitting that it did not com1 v when it was so apparent that the meetings ■ is were operated for that purpose rather than ■ along sporting lines that would be of las-tin?! benefit to the turf. ■ e c It was to be hoped that the failure of racing at Tampa and Orland to bring the expected results would curb the rush to build tracks in Florida, but such does not seem to be the case. Already still one more has been announced. This latest announcement is for a track to be operated by the Southern Racing Association. somewhere between Palm Beach and Miami. |j Al Rohrbach. formerly associated with Cana dian racing at Connaught Park and other tracks, has already been named as manager of , this new venture and it has been promised that , a meeting will l e given early next year. Then from Tampa comes the news that a 0 Florida circuit of four tracks wil be estab a lished for next year with each of the four f conducting thirty days of racing. Tne four. J according to this announcement are to be at Tampa, Miami, the new track at Pompano :1 and a fourth that has not l een named. tl But this announcement emanate.- from Tarn « pa and Fred J. Lassitor is given credit for the -i announcement that is the reason for Tampa tl being the first named of the four. 0 This all may be possible, but it is an an ti nouncement that would have come with letter 1 1 grace from the Miami Jockey Club, the one sue- tl cessful organization, rather than from an offi u rial of the West Coast Jockey Club, which was unable to complete its advertised meeting. n Thera may be four or there may be fourteen b * t j c s g s i it t t s j a . 1 I fa v i ii in o I t b C r v v ■ in v ■ is ■ ■ e c |j , , 0 a f J :1 tl « -i tl 0 ti 1 1 tl u n b tracks in Florida next season, but as has been pointed out in this column repeatedly there I can be no lasting success or security for the sport in that state unless there is a central governing body to award dates and generally supervise the sport. A body that would see to that the racing be kept a sport and not a business. That is the only salvation for the-turf in Florida or in fact anywhere else. Pompey has been brought from under th? shed by "Billy" Karriek and it may be expected that from now on the son of Sun Briar and Cleopatra will make rapid strides in his preparation for his classic engagements. Time is short for him to make the Kentucky Derby on May 15 and there is small chance that Karriek will have him ready for that running, 1 but the 1925 champion has not been idle j 2 by any means while kept under the shed. It I was made evident that he had been exercised i 4 under the shelter when he stepped five furlongs I 5 1 :07 hard held, as his first exercise in the J 7 open. And while Pompey was breezing along af Belmont Park theer was a lengthening out of 1 ] the exercises of the Derby candidates that arc ■ 2 being trained at Churchill Downs. There Champ de Mars, the colt that mad? his first I 3 racing appearance at the recent Miami meeting. was sent along for the full mile. This work j was over a track that was deep in mud and 6 the 5-on of War Star ran the distance handily - 7 1 :54*7r,. He had much in reserve all the way and it was ample to demonstrate that he 1 ready to go through the strenuous work of being tightened up for the big prize. 2 2 Recollection is another at the Downs that 3 , has been training exceedingly well and it is 4 4 expected that just as soon as weather and tra.k conditions permit he will show a truly good trial for the big race. He has been training I C i-teadily for some time and in each move he 7 shows an improvement. A track rule of the Metropolitan Jockey Club for its racing at Jamaica, which begins r April 28. to continue until May 20. provides that no horse shall be entered in two overnight 1 1 2 races the same day. This is a commendable regulation and one 3 3 that will be welcomed by the racing public. 4 Frequently it has been the custom of some -trainers to name the same horse in two or • C 7 even three races that same day. There is no way of knowing which race-will be the eventual choice and almost invariably the scratching was 1 delayed to add to this confusion. There would not be the same reason for such -a rub if the Metropolitan Jockey Club and • I the other New York racing organization- 1 would establish the early entry and scratch . 3 rule that obtains at so many race courses, but the scratching at Jamaica is still much at the 7 option of the trainer as to time, while declarations from handicaps is not required until 1 :30 oclock in the day. There will also he the antiquated rule of not closing the races 5 until 1 :30 oclock in the day. It seems impossible to work the needed 4 reform and have an early closing of the entries, •". but with all these old fashioned ideas it us I assured that the racing at Jamaica will be notable. There will be no early closing of entries and no names of the jockeys that are to ride on the programs, but the New Yorkers have become so used to the old fashioned methods that there will be no complaints. *
