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f Here and There on the Turf Sustaining Interest Necessary for Racing New Orleans Example i Maryland Hard Hit Liberal Viewpoint Success of any venture in which the publics support is necessary depends on sustaining interest. It is as true of racing as anything. Once racing fails to hold allure for the public, the sport begins to decline, until finally it passes into oblivion. Who I, can say the racing offered at the New Orleans tracks during the past few years was of the same caliber that existed in the days when E. R. Bradley controlled the Fair Grounds or even before then. At that time New Orleans was the capital of winter racing, and all the best horses that went in for the winter sport congregated at the tracks in the Crescent City. Now the sport atthe Louisiana city is lucky if it attracts a single stake horse annually, so badly has it slipped. Several reasons can be assigned why New Orleans racing has dropped from the top to the bottom. Not one of them is solely responsible, but all have contributed. Progress of the sport in Florida, Texas and California undoubtedly has worked havoc with New Orleans racing, but another great contributing factor was the failure of the track operators in the Crescent City to take any steps towards keeping the public conscious that good sport was being offered. They neither tried to improve the game by attracting the better horses, nor did they attempt to sustain the public interest, which was further being disintegrated by the efforts put forward to prevent enthusiasts from following as closely the doings of the horses elsewhere. New Orleans is not the only center where racing has hit the skids because the public interest had not been sustained. Maryland has a similar situation. The racing offered at the major Maryland tracks last season was far from being what it was previous years, and as a consequence the patronage fell to a new low level. Very weak efforts were made to acquaint the public with the fact that their continued support would give the tracks the chance to improve racing and at the same time the prospective customers were denied the opportunity of continuing their interest in racing by the unnaturally severe restrictions placed on bookmakers. The interest of the Maryland racing fans fell away and with it went the support of the Maryland tracks. The latter associations have just been before the legislature asking for taxation relief, which, it is expected, will be given them. They probably would not have been placed in this embarassing position but for the failure to keep the public racing conscious. Racing, any way you consider it, is a give and take affair. A person must be liberal in his views to enjoy racing or to support it. Likewise, the persons responsible for operating the race tracks and governing the sport must be liberal in their handling of the situation. A man cannot be expected to confine his desire to wager on a horse race to inside a race track, and it is about time those oeople in the higher councils reach the conclusion that - liberal attitude must be taken against racing and all its ramifications. If racing leaders desire to improve the sport, let them do as the Chicago tracks are doing make it possible for the better horses to run for worthwhile purses. In giving a better show, the race tracks will be stimulating interest among the public, not only those people able to attend the tracks regularly, but also those able to come out once in a while and who keep up their appetite for the sport by closely following the races from day to day through the newspapers and the opportunities afforded them to back the horses of their choice.
