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ADVERSE CALIFORNIA VOTE Initiative Racing1 Measure Beaten by Comparatively Small Margin. San Francisco and Los Angeles Reveal Preference for Sport San Diego Another City to Vote Favorably. SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov. 10. "The options system is the best possible substitute for certificates, and it looks like we will have to be content with them for the present. But the next time out our entry will win by a city block." So stated William P. Kyne, intrepid sports promoter of San Francisco and leading spirit in the great though losing fight to legalize racing in California here today when returns from Tuesdays election showed that initiative measure No. 5 would be defeated by nearly 40,000 votes. The last vailable totals for the state today were as follows: Nine thousand two hundred and ninety-three precincts out of 10,547 gave yes 774;293, no 812,410. "We feel elated over the showing we made," continued Kyne, who alone and single handed initiated the fight last summer by digging into his pocket for the 2,-000 it cost to secure 120,000 signatures to the petition that placed the proposition on the ballot. "The last two previous elections in which racing was an issue in California resulted in overwhelming defeat for the sport. The majorities against racing on those ocasions the last being only a few years ago amounted to nearly 3 to 1. Therefore, the nose decision in this race by comparison cannot be taken as a victory." Kyne went on to analyze the vote by sections, and pointed out that the big cities all gave the measure handsome majorities. The country districts, such as Kern and Orange Counties are blamed for the defeat. Uninformed of the benefits of the measure, those counties turned in pluralities against the bill sufficient to overcome the leads piled up in the urban centers. Friends of racing will obtain more satisfaction from the vote in Los Angeles and San Diego counties than elsewhere. These southern counties in past elections were overwhelmingly opposed to legalizing that sport. The voters of Los Angeles County Continued on second -page. ADVERSE CALIFORNIA VOTE Continued from first page. now believe, 407,992 to 390,150, that they should have racing in their own community, and 37,259 San Diego County citizens against 34,068 voted to have racing at home rather than across the line in Mexico. San Francisco County registered 109,624 yes to 70,129 no, and Sacramento County went race minded to the tune of 19,428 to 15,886. Contra Costa County, lying immediately east of Alameda County, voted, for the measure, 9,890 to 7,710 against lb is dn this county, near the city of Richmond, that Mr. Kyne proposes to build a track in the near future. Oakland, as had been expected, gave the bill a handsome majority. Marin County, across the bay to the north of San Francisco, was lost to the "noes" by a slight edge, the vote being 5,552 for to 6,008 against. The only real surprise and disappointment was San Mateo County, where Tanforan is located, which turned thumbs down on the bill, 13,477 to 13,044. In some sports circles this was ascribed to the desire of the thousands of personal friends of the Tanforan operators to keep the racing there tax free.
