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Here and There on the Turf Danger in Illinois New Tracks Appearing Bating of Mars Fredden Bock a Good One Just when there was general congra ¬ tulation over the fact that the Illinois racing bill had passed both houses of the legislature there comes a fear now that the passage of the law may result in the sport being overdone in the state It is unfortunate that the act did not contain a provision fixing some limit on the num ¬ ber of race courses on a basis of popu ¬ lation but with this omission there is a threat already that confusion may readily come with the establishment of altogether too many tracks Hardly was the news of the passage of the law made known before there followed the an ¬ nouncement of two new tracks one to be constructed on the northwest side of Chi ¬ cago and another at East St Louis Without going into the rights of the promoters of these new tracks or ques ¬ tioning their sincerity it is readily understood how it is more than possible that these new racing grounds will be followed by others until a great harm may be done Illinois has shown that it will support racing bountifully but there surely should be a limit placed on the number of tracks that will be licensed licensedThe The law requires that the director of agriculture shall issue a license to any applicant who conforms to the provisions of the act and at the same time pays the license fee of 2500 a day for the entire season that is requested in the appli ¬ cation No track is permitted to operate for more than fifty days in a year and there can be no racing in the state before May 1 or later than the last day of Oc ¬ tober toberThere There are various other provisions to safeguard the conduct of the sport but unfortunately there is no clause that fixes a limit on the number of race courses that may be licensed That is a serious ommission in the new law and it promises to bring about considerable confusion just when everything seemed so bright for the turf future of the state stateChicago Chicago already has three race courses in Lincoln Fields Washington Park and Hawthorne and now H D Curly Brown has announced plans for the con ¬ struction of another in the northwest section of the city citySt St Louis has its race course at Collins ville 111 the Fairmount course and Arthur Elrod has formed a new club for the construction of another at East St Louis LouisThat That is the situation as it stands now and this is only the beginning for the 2 Lager racing bill was only passed at t Springfield on Wednesday It would ap ¬ pear that many promoters have merely y been awaiting the action on the bill be ¬ fore coming into the field The men who had the courage to bring j racing back to Illinois and to Chicago 0 are entitled to first consideration Their r efforts made possible the passage of the e Lager bill and the racing they furnished 1 showed the sport in a guise that made e possible the passage of the law They y Invested vast sums for their racing with ¬ out the protection of the Lager law and d paved the way for a revival of the sport t along lines that promised to make Il ¬ linois one of the most important of all 1 the turf states Now with the passage of the law the el others are admitted assuming none of the risks of the pioneers in the revival of the sport and under the law the di ¬ rector of agriculture must grant them licenses licensesThere There is nothing discretionary in that particular clause of the law It plainly sets forth that it shall be the duty of the directory of agriculture to issue the license It is not may be it is SHALL BE He has no option The whole state could be honeycombed with race courses but it remains his duty to issue licenses provided the other provi ¬ sions of the law are observed and the license money paid paidIt It was pointed out in this column on various occasions that all racing laws should definitely fix the number of race courses that should be licensed and it was set forth that this was easy of ac ¬ complishment by fixing a scale through population of the sections in which the racing was desired desiredThat That was not done in the Lager bill and all who have the best interests of the American turf at heart will realize that it was a serious mistake Frank J Bryan handicapper for the Ontario Jockey Club has a wholesome respect for Walter M Jeffords Mars which began his 1927 Reason so aus ¬ piciously by winning the 25000 Dixie Handicap of the Maryland Jockey Club at Pimlico This sterling son of Man o War has been placed at the top of the list for the running of the Toronto Cup being run next Saturday closing day of Woodbine meeting with 127 pounds as his impost Mars will not go to the post for the big purse but it is interesting none the less to see the high esteem in which he is held by so shrewd a judge as Bryan BryanUnder Under that assignment Mars was re ¬ quired to give Sarazen Silver Fox and Display the Walter J Salmon Preak ness Stakes winner of a year ago seven pounds each That is high honor indeed for any colt but Mars has raced his way to the top brilliantly and his victory in the Dixie Handicap added to his laurels In that running Mars was handicapped at 124 pounds under which weight he received three pounds from Sarazen but he was second to high weight of those that raced giving away four pounds each to Display and Single Foot and much more weight to every other starter starterIn In the Metropolitan Handicap Mars was placed at 119 pounds by Walter S Vosburgh when the weights were an ¬ nounced during the winter The score in the Dixie Handicap imposes a penalty of six pounds so that his weight is brought up to 125 pounds and the colt is just a bit unfortunate in that Mr Vos ¬ burgh did not assign 120 pounds as his burden for it would mean a lighter weight at this time timeThat That comes about by reason of the con ¬ ditions of the handicap which set forth that penalties apply only to the extent of onehalf in horses handicapped at 115 pounds and more while those handi ¬ capped at 120 pounds or more have the penalties only applying to the extent of onequarter The Dixie Handicap victory incurred a penalty of twelve pounds which means six for the Mars weight of 119 pounds whereas if he had been handicapped at 120 pounds he would only incur a threepound penalty Thus being handicapped at 119 pounds his Dixie race raises his weight to 125 pounds while handicapped at 120 he would only have to take up 123 for that victory This grading of penalties by the weight that is assigned in the handicap division is an excellent idea but it has done Mars a slight injustice for he just escaped the additional allowance by one pound Gwyn Tompkins began his season well for the Brookmeade Stable when he had Fredden Rock winner of the International Steeplechase Handicap at Belmont Park on opening day dayThis This fouryearold son of Sea Horse II Belle of Bryn Mawr has jumping blood on both sides of his stock for both his sire and his dam showed real brilliance through the field Thursday the course at Belmont Park was slippery and treach elrous but Fredden Rock made no mis takes He is a chaser that is favored when the course is a stiff one Fredden Rock proved his worth at Pim lico when in his first effort of the year he took the measure of as good a horse as Jolly Roger in the Greenspring Valley Handicap over the two mile course He is a chaser with a world of speed he hejumps jumps fearlessly and that is about all that is required to bring success
