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PATRIOTICS EASY VICTORY Scores Second Straight Success in Annexing Oaklawn Feature. Finds Little Trouble Taking Measure of Aunt Myrtle and Allen Z. Good Week-Day Crowd. HOT SPRINGS, Ark., April 1. Patriotic, from the useful Geneseo Stable, carried 119 pounds to an easy victory in the handicap which topped todays attractive program at Oaklawn Park. It was Patriotics second straight success here, although he was making his first start in several weeks. Only five accepted, and those which finished behind the winner in order were Aunt Myrtle, Allen Z., My Blaze and Walter Morton. The race was decided over the Oaklawn course, the fifth straight event run over that sprint distance, and the winner -negotiated it in 1:08. Patriotic was rushed into an early lead and drew away steadily until at the wire he was three lengths to the good. Aunt Myrtle, Allen Z. and My Blaze finished noses apart in their battle for the smaller divisions of the purse, while Walter Morton trailed home six lengths farther back. Aunt Myrtle was close to the winner for a quarter, but then had to battle to retain second place, for she was never able to shake off Allen Z. My Blaze joined in the battle a sixteenth out and in a few more strides might have been second. The winner was ridden by C. Phillips. Supporting the Como Hotel Handicap were six other contests, and with few exceptions they provided interesting contests. The card was one of the best week-day offerings of the season, and this despite the fact that the meeting has only a few more days to run and many stables have been shipped to other points. The first four races, like the feature, were decided over the Oaklawn Course, the last two events over a mile and a sixteenth. While claiming conditions governed the fourth and sixth races, either of them could have been presented as a feature. Except for the second race, in which eleven went to the post, small fields matched strides. The day was a trifle warmer than yesterday, and that fact helped to attract a large crowd. Skies were overcast all morning, but around noon the clouds partially disappeared. Oaklawn patrons were gratified to hear that efforts by the state attorney generals office to close the meeting before the end of the week had met with failure. The attorney general had contended that the state racing commission had not the authority to Continued on twenty-sixth page. PATRIOTICS EASY VICTORY Continued frpm first page. grant the Oaklawn Jockey Club an exten-sion of the meeting. Earth Shaker surprised the talent when, under a clever ride by the veteran Kenneth McCray, he accounted for the opening race in game fashion. Outrun for three-eighths, the winner could make no appreciable gain until approaching the stretch. Giving good response to punishment and with McCray driving him through a narrow opening on the rail, the victor overhauled Goforth and Eddie Helck, which were fighting it out desperately, and forged ahead in the final stages to close his engagement a neck to the good. Red Basil, carrying the jacket of Joe Shakespeare and an odds-on choice, was out to the last ounce to beat the 27-to-l shot, B. Baron, by a neck in the second, over the Oaklawn course. It was one of the closest finishes of the season, with Ante Bellum a half length back of the runner-up and a head in front of Tide Time at the end. Red Basil began very slowly and did not start running until well into the stretch. B. Baron also finished very fast, and the pair staged a ding-dong duel in the final yards. Ante Bellum set the early pace in the event.
