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CHANGES AT BELffiONT PARK New Betting Enclosure Arranged Under Stand With Every Con ¬ venience for Wagering NEW YORK N Y May 15 When the New York racing scene changes to Belmont Park with the opening of the spring meet ¬ ing of the Westchester Racing Association next Wednesday May 16 there will be many important changes made in the big Nassau County racing ground for the comfort and convenience of the patrons These changes have to do with the new order of betting and it will be found that the clubhouse will enjoy advantages that they did not have at the Jamaica meeting meetingJoseph Joseph E Widener has given his personal attention to the changes made necessary by reason of the new law and it would seem that his arrangement is an ideal ono Brief ¬ ly the old semicircular betting ring will not be utilized but the betting enclosure will be under the stand in the space that has been taken up with the various cater ¬ ing counters countersIn In this fashion it is brought right up to the clubhouse enclosure and with an open ¬ ing made between the enclosure and this new ring it becomes only a step from the clubhouse to the ring The books will be placed at every post in a straight line through that vast expanse and it can be carried down as lar as is required requiredThen Then a further convenience for the club ¬ house will be an approximate odds board that will show the changes in the market The bookmakers who formerly operated in the clubhouse under the oral system will be accorded places at that end of the new betting ring and each will have two agents or messengers to take care of the wants of their patrons One Till always be sta ¬ tioned near the approximateodds board while the other will act as messenger to take the wagers to the book he may report to Other improvements will be telephone connections to the approximateodds board and from the ring to the clerk of scales so that when a finish becomes official it will be immediately flashed to the betting ring where result numbers will be displayed The doing away with the old betting en ¬ closure brings the bookmakers closer to the lawns and the stands so that it will be a new convenience for those who may not patronize the clubhouse It also makes the ring immediately adjacent to the paddock and in short appears to meet every re quirement for comfort and convenience of those who wager on the racers racersMr Mr Widener at both Belmont Park and Hialeah Park in Florida has been the direct ¬ ing genius in the construction and the thought he has given this change in the betting arrangement appears to be every ¬ thing that could be desired The space to be occupied by the layers is sufficient to take care of any number of bookmakers that may operate and at the same time have ample room so that there will be no con ¬ gestion no matter how large the crowds may be
