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I -------- -....-... Here and; There on the Turf Maryland Good Example Winn Pref ers Later Derby Date ; Selection Must Be Made Early Chicago Dates May Be Changed ! Court Action Will Be Harmful - Operators of race tracks and friends of racing are never without fear that reformers will gain; the upper hand and will, force repeal ; of the laws permitting betting. Unless the "blue law" folk have something more han morals alone to go on they cannot make Headway in their drive to kill the sport. Racing and betting thereon, properly supervised and regulated, cannot hurt a community? morals sufficiently for the people of that community to rise up in a successful effort to stop a track from operating; Americans are too sensible as a whole to consider that betting on the outcome of a horse race is morally wrong, and they further consider it an affront to personal liberty not to have the privilege when they so desire it. r A race track is doomed, however, when W the merchants, bankers and civic leaders come to the conclusion that the public pays more attention to racing than to the necessities of life and other luxuries. When business heads agree that racing has been overdone it doesnt take them long to do something about it, so it behooves the owners and managers of race tracks to offer no more than the traffic can bear. Year in and year out over a long period of time racing in Maryland has been more successful, financially speaking, than anywhere else in the country. Maryland law limits the season to a hundred days at the four major tracks, and this is split in half with four months elapsing between the close of the spring term and the opening of the autumn schedule and between the end of fall racing and the inaugural the following year. With just so much racing the merchants have found the sport helpful to them, if any- Continued on twenty-second page.. HERE AND THERE ON THE TURF Continued from second page. thing, because of its distribution of money. Although they have only 100 days of racing annually, patrons of Maryland tracks keep up their interest during the remainder of the year through "off-the-course" betting, yet they do not do anything like enough of it to create any economic disturbances in the cities in which they live. Failing race tracks cannot blame their downfall on the so-called handbook menace, but only on themselves for operating too long or draining the public pocketbook through an excessive takeout. Miami, according to its size, has three times more racing than it can support, but the Florida city isnt called upon to pay for the profitable operation of Hialeah and Tropical Parks. As a matter of fact, these two tracks mean much to Miami in bringing visitors and money there and because of the steady change of tourists the long season there is a benefit instead of a detriment to the city. However, history shows that wherever there was more racing than the traffic could bear, the sport lost caste and was laid bare to extinction. Greater Boston had more racing at Rockingham Park, Suffolk Downs and Narragansett Park and at the dog tracks than was good for it last year, and the tide against the sport is beginning to rise. A shorter season with a willingness to cooperate among the associations should increase the life of New England racing many years. Let the race tracks regulate themselves properly and theyll never have anything to fear from an excessive amount of "off-the-course" betting; meanwhile interest will be sufficiently sustained for the associations to operate profitably with high-class sport at meetings of moderate length. Matt Winn, the Churchill Downs impresario, would rather that this years renewal of the Kentucky Derby be run on May 9 y instead of the second but the announcement of the Preakness date on May 16 came too late for anything to be done about the matter. The date of the Derby must necessarily be set early because so many persons in all parts of the country are interested in the race and make plans to attend it. Convention dates are even decided with the Derby date in mind and of course the hotels and railroads all require considerable time to work out details for accommodating the thousands of visitors. Colonel Winn was surprised when the Maryland Jockey Club set May 16 as the time for the Preakness running instead of the customary week after the Derby, but the build-up for the Churchill Downs classic already was well under way ind the genial manager didnt care to upset plans that already had been made. All the advantages of the later date for the Derby running are understood by Colonel .""in and he intends to move the race back a Saturday or two next year. Very probably he will "try for an expression from Matt Daiger, the Pimlico manager, on the Preakness date of 1937 and then will set the Derby . time accordingly. Winn would like for the trainers to have the additional time in pre-H paring the Derby candidates, knowing that W a better and stronger field could be ex-f pected. The later date, he realizes, increases the chances of sunshine and a fast track, which would have the effect of attracting a larger crowd. Some years ago and for a steady period the Derby came after the Preakness and was run during the middle of May, so there is a likelihood this arrangement may prevail again. The man who has seen every one of the sixty-one runnings of the Kentucky Derby and has managed the show for nearly half the time, building up the event until it is f Americas most popular race, is very jubilant over the coming renewal. Winn allows others to get enthusiastic about the class of the horses as he attends to the countless details of operating the track and taking care of the public. He states that advance reservations are greater than ever before, which is saying something, even though the acom-modations will be larger due to the reconstruction of the clubhouse at a tremendous cost Work on this improvement has advanced steadily and will be completed in v time for the tracks opening on April 25. Within a short time Winn may be expected to announce that the boxes and reserved seats all have been sold and others who would see the race must do the best they can. Sportmans Park, Chicagos half-mile track, has petitioned the Illinois State Racing Commission to change the date schedule so that it will have four weeks of racing instead of three, and offering a substitute program that calls for Aurora to lose a week of its allotted dates. The commission will meet again next Monday to hear what Aurora has to say about the matter, and then it will make known its decision. Owners of Sportsmans Park seem prepared to take the matter into the courts, which action would not do the sport any good. Legal entanglements in the past have always given racing unfavorable publicity. A feeling prevails, however, that some changes may be made in the dates to appease Sportsmans management, and in the revised schedule Lincoln Fields may get back Labor Day, its traditional holiday. Under the present program that day has been given to Washington Park. All racing hopes that the Chicago difficulty may be worked out in an amicable fashion; but, unfortunately, the sport has political alliances and Illinois politics is seething at the present time. If the petition of Sportsmans Park is denied by the Commission, the present schedule probably will stand up even if the matter is taken to the courts. The Illinois Commission is duly constituted by law and has absolute power. Several cases have been settled before by the highest judiciary as to the control of racing by commissions so endowed, and the National Jockey Club interests likely will find that out if they go to the courts, which, apparently, they are prepared to do. It is reiterated that this action will be most unwelcome because of the unpleasantness which is sure to arise.
