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Here and There on the Turf j i i New England Treaty Made Discovery Ready for Battle i Rockingham Prospects Good Seek Lower Take in West An event of the utmost importance in rac ¬ ing circles was the meeting of Charles F Adams Walter OHara and Lou Smith at Boston the other night to work out a sched ¬ ule of dates that will be as good for one as well as for the others They reached an agreement on racing dates that will hold good through this season and through 1936 so New England is assured of two years of nonconflicting sport Because Suffolk Downs the track now being constructed in East Boston will not be ready until July and Narragansett and Rockingham Parks already have announced their dates for this season the present program will not be ma ¬ terially affected the Pawtucket course go ¬ ing ahead with its three meetings totaling sixtyfive days daysNext Next year however the three tracks will split the season evenly as to the number of days each taking fortyfour and the ar ¬ rangement of meetings will be entirely dif ¬ ferent from what it will be for this year probably to even up any advantages held by one of the tracks over the others during 1935 We do not know who is responsible for representatives of the three tracks get ¬ ting together to work out an amicable agree ¬ ment but that is not important as long as the conclave vas held and harmony now exists New England racing can be ex ¬ pected to last longer now that the three tracks are working together It is hoped they will continue that way from now on onAlfred Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilts Discovery seems a sure starter in tlic Toboggan Han ¬ dicap the inaugural feature at Bclmont Park Wednesday judging from his public workout at Pimlico Friday when he sped six furlongs in 111 and was eased up seveneighths in 125 This is sizzling to use an expression of the railbirds and it indicates the fouryearold son of Display and Ariadne by Light Brigade to be in splendid condition Discovery spent the winter at his owners Sagamore Farm in the Worthington Valley just outside Baltimore and he did his spring training over the home course under the practiced eye of J H Stot ler Due to make his debut in the Tobog ¬ gan Discovery is being groomed for the Metropolitan Handicap and later the Sub ¬ urban Handicap In the Metropolitan Dis ¬ covery is due to meet King Saxon and their clash looms as one of the big events of the entire season seasonWhile While Discovery made a name for himself last season in distance events being hailed by many experts as second only to Cavalcade among the threeyearolds trainer Stotler steadily considered the Vanderbilt colt to be capable enough of running with the speediest of sprinters In his long career in racing Stotler believes Discovery to be the fastest horse he ever had any connection with This is saying something considering that Stotler had Balko when that fellow was in his prime This season Discovery will be called upon to sprint and to run far although he may do no more of the former after the Toboggan because once he reaches the condition for distance racing he will be campaigned only in such events Discovery only needs to improve half as much as did his sire from his threeyearold to his four yearold form to be the champion of the older division this season seasonWith With Marylands spring season ending with the Preakness important racing in the eastern sector moves northward Belmont and Rockingham Parks both scheduled to open Wednesday Belmont will attract the better stables from Pimlico as well as those that were seen at Jamaica but it also will bring into action many establishments which have been very quiet up to this time Many of the horses that saw spring service in Maryland as well as some that were at Jamaica will assemble at Rockingham Park to share in the large distribution of stakes and purses arranged there by Lou Smith The New Hampshire course is getting off to an early start but it will have ample racing material and with a run of good weather the meeting should be one of the most successful in its history In fact Rock ¬ ingham may never do as well again con ¬ sidering that New England is to have more racing than ever before The California legislature is considering an amendment to its parimutuel betting law reducing the takeout allowed the tracks from eight per cent to six A Los Angeles assemblyman introduced it but the change is being opposed by William P Kyne and John W Marchbank operators of the Bay Meadows and Tanforan tracks who say they cannot operate successfully if the re ¬ duction is made at this time The law does not have to be changed if a track wishes to have a smaller take and it will not be surprising if Santa Anita voluntarily makes a reduction for its meeting next winter When the law is altered however the state should cut its percentage which is now four A total of ten per cent is sufficient and if anything is done by the California legislature it should at least make the tracks take seven and the states cut three per cent The smaller take the better betterSanta Santa Anita is wise in asking for only fiftythree days of racing next winter As no pther track is likely to be constructed in Los Angeles this year the southern Cali ¬ fornia city will have no other racing except that offered at the course pioneered by Hal Roach and Charles H Strub The purses and stakes will be large enough however to attract many good horses from the East as was the case last winter and with only fiftythree days Los Angeles will have suf ¬ ficient racing to satisfy everyone concerned It is apparent that Carleton Burke and his associates on the California Hprse Rac ¬ ing Board and the directors of Santa Anita are anxious not to take a chance on ruining Los Angeles as a racing center by having more than the traffic can bear
