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I CALIFORNIA COMMITTEE I QUESTIONS 60 WITNESSES .--- . . . t SAN MATEO, Calif., April 4. The result of the Investigation into the workings of the California Horse Racing Board, held at Sacramento yesterday, will not be known until after the investigating committee reports to the legislature. The session, a lengthy one, lasted from 4 p. m. Wednesday until 3 a. m. Thursday. About sixty witnesses were called, including Carleton F. Burke, chairman of the California Horse Racing Board; Christopher J. FitzGerald, presiding steward at Bay Meadows; William Quigley, presiding judge at the same track; Harding MacGuire, assistant secretary of the board; Thomas OBrien, managing director of pari-mutuel wagering at the State Fair; Chas. T. Boots, prominent California breeder; J. F. Patterson, president of the Western Thoroughbred Horsemens Association; A. A. Baroni, horse owner, and Frank Mauro, jockey. MacGuire, who seemed to be the main target of the charges brought by Frank J. Hudson, a former co-worker, was subjected to quite a grilling by state senator Garibaldi and is reported to have testified that about all he knew about racing was what he read in books. Carleton Burke, chairman of the horse racing board, when questioned regarding dates, said that he believed Santa Anita should have the winter dates because of the better climate, and intimated that, in his opinion, one race track was enough for Los Angeles, whereas he granted permits for two tracks in the San Francisco district, which has less population. Owner Baroni and jockey Mauro, interrogated regarding the Head Play-Top Row race, seemed reluctant to admit that Top Row had been fouled in that event, despite the fact that Baroni is stated to have claimed openly following the event that his animal had been fouled, and Mauro lodged a claim of foul as soon as the event was over. J. F. Patterson was of the opinion that not enough races were being staged for horses bred in California.
