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t ■■■■■■■■■■-■■-■■■■■■■» ■ Here and There on the Turf — — —— i Suburban Top Attraction Illinois Derby Open Race Agawam, Wheeling Prospects Good Me now Will Take Long Rest I Important doings in the racing world are scheduled to happen today, what with several big events to be decided and new tracks opening up. Outstanding attraction is the Suburban Handicap, which 0,000 purse has drawn a line field, headed by War Admiral and Pompoon, but the race, unfortunately, will be decided over a bad track at Belmont Park unless the sun gets very busy today. Another contest of national importance is the Illinois Derby, which will have its decision at Aurora. A well-matched field of capable three-year-olds, none of which, however, are outstanding, will cut up the 2,000 purse, provided by the Fox Valley Jockey Club for the mile and one furlong contest, which will mark the close of a successful Aurora meeting, the sport in the Chicago area moving to Lincoln Fields on Monday. Swinging into action today for their spring meetings are Detroit, Agawam and Wheeling Downs and each point reports sufficient racing material for ample fields, now that the coughing epidemic is on the wane. Prospects for successful terms at Agawam and Wheeling Downs are exceptionally good, as both these young tracks should benefit from the fine impressions made in their communities last year. Agawam has installed a steeplechase course and the two jumping races weekly carded there may be very helpful in exciting interest, but without them the Berkshire track should do very well in its scope, as racing has taken on in that section in a very pleasing manner. In its class, there is no prettier track in the country than Agawam. Wheeling Downs is a half-mile track which some day may grow. Walter H. Donovan and assistants had all sorts of obstacles to overcome when they revived the sport in that West Virginia city last summer but they soon made it evident that they were doing all possible to offer racing in a decent, honest manner, and only continued bad weather kept the meeting from being more of a success than it was. With many improvements made in the plant since last year and a full complement of horses; sadly lacking in 1937, Wheeling inaugurates its run of twenty-two days with really fine prospects, particularly as Pittsburgh is manifesting much more interest in the meeting than it did last year. Donovan again has assembled a staff of well known and competent officials and in every other way he is attempting to operate Wheeling Downs in the J fashion of a metropolitan track. k Continued on twentjftMrtt pagej HERE AND THERE ON THE TURF Continued from second page. Prospects at Detroit, unfortunately, are not as bright as Clarence Lehr and his assistants deserve and they will be thankful if the meeting just gets by financially while the standard of sport built up at the Motor City course during the past few years is maintained. The Detroit meeting will extend thirty-seven days with the outstanding feature, scheduled for June 25, being a re-| newal of the Frontier Handicap with 000 in added money. Another attractive stake of the ten programmed is the Col. Alger Memorial Handicap, which will be decided Monday. Racing at Detroit has become so firmly entrenched that many stables I make it a custom to campaign there, so it, too, will have plenty of horses, despite the great demand for racing material all over the country. Detroit has its share of horses with class, too. Having bagged one of the important three-year-old events in winning the Withers, Me-now has gone into temporary retirement, although nothing more is wrong with him than when he began his campaign this spring. Hal Price Headley is satisfied the I son of Pharamond II. and Alcibiades would be at a disadvantage over the mile and a half distance of the Belmont, so the colt, rather than be trained for that race, will do some loafing for the next month or so. He will be a nominee for the Arlington classic, but Headley has no intention at this time of training Menow for that event. Later in the season, however, the Kentucky turfman would be very happy to pit Menow against any horse in the country at one mile and would welcome an outstanding event at that distance. He is well satisfied that Menow has few, if any, superiors at eight furlongs and probably could stick a greater distance in first class company if a hundred per cent sound.
