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Here and There on the Turf Belmont and Its Value Purely an Eastern Prize New Betting Facilities New York Sport Improving In the long history of the famous old Bel ¬ mont Stakes it was first run in 1867 it has always oeen a prize that is essentially eastern rather than national as is the Kentucky Derby The big Churchill Downs race by reason of the manner in which its value was built up by Col Matt Winn and the wide publicity it has been accorded at ¬ tracted the horses from the Atlantic sea ¬ board and they made many a successful in ¬ vasion but the Kentuckians have not pa ¬ tronized the Belmont Stakes in a like fashion fashionOf Of course one reason for this and the big reason for its big value is that the coming renewal closed in 1931 These were natu ¬ rally weanling entries and about the only Kentuckians that would be attracted are breeders who desire to enhance the value of their stock if they breed for the market marketBut But the New York sportsmen many of them who breed their own are the liberal nominators They are sportsmen of wealth and in racing for the sport They would rather breed a BelmoxTt Stakes winner than the winner of any other prize of the Ameri ¬ can turf For that reason virtually the en ¬ tire crop of weanlings is named namedFor For the coming renewal of the Belmont Stakes there were 372 original nominations at 10 each and as the various declaration dates come along it costs 300 to bring a horse up to the race and then another 250 to start In other words it costs 550 to start in the Belmont Stakes and there is the wait from 1931 to 1934 to realize on the original investment of 10 10As As the eligibles come along there are dec ¬ larations from time to time until now of the original 372 nominations there only re ¬ main forty still eligible and of these Ed ¬ ward R Bradley and Alex Gordon are the Continued on ninth page HERE AND THERE ON THE TURF Continued from second page only Kentuckians that are still represented in that list There were some few others that nomin ¬ ated from the West but the nominees have all been declared Of these Warren Wright who races under the name of the Calumet Farm Stable named ten and Hadagal was carried along to the final declaration date when he was declared out Norman Church the Coldstream Stud Mrs John Hertz Mose Lowenstein J O Keene and the Warm Sta ¬ ble all made nominations that were later declared declaredAnd And with the various fees paid by the nominators and the 25000 that is added by the Westchester Racing Association the Belmont Stakes not counting the starting fee of 250 has a gross value of 58620 58620It It is not expected there will be more than three or four starters for after looking over the forty that remain eligible there does not seem to be any reason to see a greater number under silks Three that have been heading for the running are Mrs Isabel Dodge Sloanes Alemorial winner High Quest Joseph E Wideners Peace Chance and George D Wideners Chicstraw one that has yet to be heard from fromBob Bob Smith also has the Florida Derby winner Time Clock that he might send to the post to bear High Quest company and Jack Joyner also has Kawagoe that might be started with Chicstraw but High Quest and Chicstraw are the main dependencies of both stables stablesPeace Peace Chance ran a good race before he was sent to the post in the Kentucky Derby and he will likely start for Joseph Widener There is just a chance First Minstrel will race for the Greentree Stable and of the fiftyfive that were named by C V Whitney three remain eligible in Collateral Roust ¬ about and Fogbound but there seems tc no good reason for sending any one of tiRL to the post postFrank Frank A Carreauds Time Supply is an ¬ other that may be raced He should be highly tried in the Preakness and should decide whether or not he will be up to a gallop of a mile and a half June 9 9Alex Alex Gordon has Sir Thomas eligible but after his showing in the Kentucky Derby he would not appear a worthy eligible eligibleNarrowing Narrowing the field down about the only worthy ones of the forty left appear to be High Quest Chicstraw and Peace Chance and possibly Time Supply But it is remem ¬ bered that last year Joseph E Widener won the great prize with the plater Hurryoff and that may induce some of the nominees to pay the starting fee Changes being made by Joseph E Widener in the betting ring arrangement at Belmont Park should make for a great improvement in that important end of the sport With the layers so closely adjacent to the club ¬ house enclosure patrons of that end of the course will have advantages not enjoyed at Jamaica and the installation of a board to record the market fluctuations will be greatly appreciated appreciatedMr Mr Widener proved himself a genius in race track construction when he personally directed the designing of Hialeah Park in Florida and he has been responsible for bringing Belmont Park to its present gor ¬ geous magnificence He has made a study of the needs of the public in all of his de ¬ signs and it would appear that he has solved one problem in this change of the betting ring ringThe The old ring at Belmont Park is both commodious and convenient but it is far removed from the clubhouse enclosure with the moving of that enclosure to the opposite end of the stand As Belmont Park was originally built the clubhouse was on the opposite end and comparatively close to the betting enclosure The abandoning of the old clubhouse changed all this and the elimination of the old ring solves the prob ¬ lem perfectly perfectlyAnd And with the new ring occupying the vast space that was formerly given over to the patrons of the grandstand clubhouse and paddock any number of layers will find ample room and there should be no cause for congestion on the biggest day of the meeting meetingAs As the New York season progresses and the better horses are brought to the races there has come an improvement in the sport at Jamaica Many are still waiting for the opening of Belmont Park Wednesday before showing tneir best but by that time there is every indication that racing will come to a higher plane planeThe The Metropolitan Jockey Club has been handicapped greatly for want of horses and John J Kane is to be congratulated on the sport he has furnished with the material h has had on hand There were occasions when it was only possible to fill a program by catering to the cheapest sort but he has brought about contests and that after all is what the public desires desiresWith With the closing of the season at Pimlico Saturday afternoon there will be a general movement of the best horses to Belmont Park and already there have been arrivals from Maryland that have enlivened and bet ¬ tered the racing Each year many of the best horses are taken to Maryland for the big prizes that are offered there but with New York enjoying a greater freedom in the matter of betting it is probable that Mary ¬ land will not have the same appeal next year yearWith With increased revenues purse values will be restored in New York and it is only the value of the prizes that has given Maryland its spring advantage over the New York racing aria the same changes will undoubt ¬ edly come in the fall of the year with the New York horses remaining at home in greater numbers than has been the rule in recent seasons seasonsWhile While New York is on the upward trend in the matter of purses the Maryland asso ¬ ciations have been forced to curtail their prizes considerably until it is safe to prom ¬ ise the time is not far distant when it will cease to be such a serious rival to New York YorkAs As far back as memory goes there has invariably been a supposedly better one in the barn than the colt that seems to be a champion Of course this fellow Is only supposed to be a better one and he has frequently failed utterly to make good but just now there are many who consider High Quest a better colt than Cavalcade winner of the Chesapeake and the Kentucky Derby DerbyBob Bob Smith himself may not be willing to rate the son of Sir Gallahad m publicly as better than the Derby winner but he la still exceedingly high en his Belmont elig ¬ ible and Mack Garner who should know Cavalcade thoroughly is not willing to ad ¬ mit that he is better than his stablemate Incidentally stablemateIncidentally Smith said after his return to New York from Churchill Downs that the Kentucky Derby was the easiest race run by Cavalcade in his three winning ef ¬ forts this year
