"Tote" Board at Aurora: Overall Length to be 105 Feet, Making it Longest in Chicago Area, Daily Racing Form, 1938-04-08

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"TOTE" BOARD AT AURORA Overall Length to Be 105 Feet, Making It Longest in Chicago Area. Half-Mile Stretch of Road Leading From State Highway to Grounds Now Being Paved More Parking Space. AURORA, 111., April 7. A couple of features in connection with the new tote board were revealed today by resident manager D. C. Burnett. Due to the completeness of the board, which will be the first to record the dollar combinations, the overall length of the structure will be 105 feet. This makes it the biggest tote board constructed to date and tops Washington Park and Arlington by almost ten feet in this respect. A new kind of a light bulb will be introduced to Chicago with the Aurora meeting. This is a white light instead of amber, as has been used heretofore. The bulb itself is shaped differently and will be sunk into the board. This eliminates the reflection of the sun and makes all figures clearly visible from all angles. A new inner rail on the racing strip has also been erected. With the, arrival of starter Johnny Mor-rissey and judge Cliff Abbo, Auroras family of officials is now complete and the business of making everything ready for opening day has swung into high. ANOTHER IMPROVEMENT. Racing fans, who will come out of their winter quarters with the opening of the Illi-nois season at Aurora, May 2, will find another improvement which should be very much to their liking. This does not refer to the installation of the new electric tote board, but to the addition of new parking space and the reconditioning of the half mile stretch of road leading from the state highway to the grounds. The road is being resurfaced with asphalt, which will not only make it a perfect boulevard, but will increase its car capacity. This work calls for several feet of additional width on both sides. The new surface will eliminate the dust and grime that formerly beset motorists on dry and windy days. The flying field, directly across this road from the grandstand, has been leased by president Robert S. Eddy, Jr., and the necessary work of turning it into a parking space has been started. This will provide room for an additional 5,000 cars and, with the new road providing easier access to and from the state highway, much of the traffic jams, which have occurred on big afternoons, will be eliminated. With workmen busy on the new road, on the parking space and on the installation of the tote board, to say nothing of training workouts on the track, the snug little Fox "Valley course presents a daily scene of unusual activity.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1930s/drf1938040801/drf1938040801_20_1
Local Identifier: drf1938040801_20_1
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800