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HOLMES AGAIN WARNS OWNERS Private Stables Not Available for Horsemen Unless Sanctioned. Track Agrees With Property Owners to Okay Prospective Tenants Oaklawn Stall Shortage Acute. HOT SPRINGS, Ark., Dec. 6. General manager P. J. Holmes of the Oaklawn Park track today advised owners who have not been assigned stable room at the track not to ship to Hot Springs with the idea of securing stable room outside of Oaklawn Park. Holmes announced that a conference was held with owners of private stables and an agreement reached with them not to rent their property to any owner or horsemen unless he or they have been okayed by the track management." This move was made by Oaklawn officials to prevent undesirables from shipping to Hot Springs with the idea of securing stable room outside the track and vanning their charges to the course for the races. Working closely with owners of private stables, Holmes can in this wajr assure them of desirable tenants, although the track has no official connection with property owners outside of the agreement to okay prospective tenants. Mayor Leo P. McLaughlin, after a conference with Holmes and racing secretary Eugene Bury, announced to newspapermen that while tourist reservations at the smaller hotels are not quite as large as in 1938, the larger hotels report much heavier reservations for the coming season at the Spa than for the corresponding period this season. The race meeting at the popular Arkansas spa is slated to open on February 27 and finish on April 1, when the farewell feature of the thirty days of sport will be the ,000 added Arkansas Derby. Oaklawn officials are confident that the Derby this year will be the best ever decided at the course. So many good two-year-olds were out in 1938 that the field for the Derby figures to be the strongest and best going to the post in its brief but interesting history. Eastport showed brilliant speed in winning this years renewal of the mile and one-eighth feature, running the distance in 1:50 is, which is only two-fifths of a second off the Oaklawn Park record for the route. Stable room at the Spa has become something of a problem and occupies the entire attention of the staff these winter days. So acute has the situation become, it plagues officials night and day, resulting in the above and repeated warnings to itinerant owners.
