view raw text
RECORD INAUGURAL CROWD DETROIT, Mich., May 22.— If the opening program can be used as a criterion, Detroit will enjoy its most successful meeting in several years. The crowd was the largest for a first day in the brief history of the track and the pari-mutuel handle showed an increase of 18 per cent over that for the same day last year. Considering that the weather was threatening and that rains forced the patrons to crowd the main betting enclosure after the running of the third race, the inaugural was all that was to be desired by president Clarence E. Lehr and his associates. There was no stakes offered but the two handicaps resulted in sparkling contests and while only two favorites were successful in the eight races, there was only one big surprise.