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j j I Here and There i on the Turf i — I I Arlington Bids for Good Horses » * Stakes Rearrangement Attrac- j j tive i j Metropolitan Promises Fine ! j Race * * Hollyrood Has Come Back to " j j Life ! Arlington Park, the Chicago race course that consistently has lured important eastern stables, seeks to hold up its reputation, judging 8 by the stakes program for the thirty-day meeting through July. Seven features have been scheduled, of which three will gross above 0,000 in value. Two others are handicaps with 0,000 added, and another is for two-year-olds, with ,000 offered. Most notable of the Arlington events is the Classic, one of the major three-year-old events of the country, and it will be renewed July 25 — one week later than has been the custom. Formerly the Classic was staged on the third Staurday of the meeting, but as the Fourth of July falls on Saturday this year, Arlington officials were compelled to rearrange the stakes calendar. The Stars and Stripes Handicap is a traditional Independence Day feature at Arlington Park and will be the first important event to be decided during the meeting. In shifting the stakes dates over what has been the order in past years, Arlington undoubtedly took into consideration the running of important events at other tracks, notably the Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs and the Butler Handicap at Empire City. With the Arlington Handicap on the final day of the meeting, it will provide the opportunity for horses participating in the eastern events to make the shipment to Chicago. The new arrangement also should be of value in maintaining interest at a peak to the end of the meeting, and there may be no letdown after the Classic renewal. With such a closing program, stables will not be in so great a hurry to ship away during the final week, and it is more than a possibility that divisions of New York establishments may be sent to the Chicago course just for the latter half of the meeting. The Preakness naturally deserves the center of attention Saturday, but a better horse race may be presented in the renewal of the historic Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park. Although its purse is correspondingly small, the Metropolitan seldom fails to attract the best field of milers in the country. With a sizable award and offered at Belmont Parks autumn meeting, such a race could be a championship affair, attracting the top milers of the small parts of the country, whether three-year-olds or older horses. This is a suggestion for Joseph E. Widener to remember when and if the Westchester Racing Association is able to dangle a large purse before the horsemen. Belmont is ideally equipped for a mile race with its mile and a half course. The horses race around only one turn, and it is a broad one at that. Some other association, however, with facilities for a good mile race, such as Arlington Park, Churchill Downs or Lincoln Fields, may try the idea first. Outstanding candidates for the Metropolitan include Singing Wood and Sation, which finished first and second in the Toboggan Handicap, Monday at Belmont. King Saxon Continued on twenty-ninth page. HERE AND THERE ON THE TURF Continued from second page. has been pointed for the race since his victory in the Excelsior Handicap at Jamaica and Whopper is a certain starter. Hal Price Headleys big colt displayed a sharp performance in running third in the Toboggan and that effort should do him much good to have him ready for Saturdays engagement. He thrives on campaigning. The Metropolitan will not require any more starters to offer a very attractive contest, one that very easily could result in an onslaught on Jack Highs record of 1:35 for the course. A large crowd will be at Belmont on Saturday but not great enough to be in keeping with the traditions and importance of the Metropolitan as well as the quality of the field. Hollyrood, which failed to display any ambition in New York after his early Kentucky Derby preparation on the Hal Price Headley farm in the Blue Grass and so passed up the Churchill Downs classic, apparently has recovered some of his poise and will try for the Preakness on Saturday. When trainer Duval Headley reached the conclusion that Hollyrood wasnt right he eased up on the son of High Cloud and Mandy Hamilton. Headley didnt give any serious thought to pointing the colt for the Preakness, but Hollyrood has come back in a manner most satisfactory to his connections as demonstrated in his workout Tuesday, in which he covered a mile and a furlong in 1:53%. The Kentucky-owned colt fancies the Baltimore course as he accounted for the Pimlico Futurity last fall when he took the measure of Grand Slam, Ned Reigh, Snark and other colts of quality. His effort in the Preakness will be viewed with much interest as he was the future book favorite in the Derby until Brevity captured the Florida Derby in record time.
