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Charles Hatton THE JUDGES STAND By Charles Hatton Count as Stimulus to Turf Preakness Color Maintained BALTIMORE Md May 5 The possibility of a Richmond in the field for Saturdays Preakness went glim ¬ mering when Harry Straus New Moon failed rather ignominiously at addson in the Survivor which is Pimlicos Preakness trial So Count Fleet who won the Kentucky Derby at a new low of 2 to 5 for a winner of that classic since the installation of the iron men almost certainly will become the most abbreviated mutuels favorite in Strategic Improving Sort Pimlico Plans for Autumn Preakness history The most optimistic cannot envision more than 1 to 5 So far as mutuel prices go War Ad ¬ miral now holds the distinction of being the most con ¬ fidently backed Preakness hero returning 270 for 2 Mrs Sloanes entry of High Quest and Cavalcade was 290 for 2 Man o War was a 4 to 5 risk in 1920 if you really want to know Turf enthusiasts discuss Count Fleets probable price at great length as if it exerted some bearing on the case but you may rest assured he neither knows nor cares the slightest about dull mathe ¬ matics He just goes out there and runs like the very wind that ripples in the blue grass in his Stoner Creek paddock Indeed his prestige is such that only those who are sufficiently welltodo that they have no real need of money can afford to wager enough on him to make it worth while x xFor For the most part the Saturday attendance will come to Pimlico to let this really phenomenal runner help their morale Those who saw the Futurity arid Walden here last fall are aware he can be exhilarating to watch stimulating thoroughbred enthusiasts much as Niagara Falls does nature lovers loversThe The Preakness and Count Fleet are racegoers favorite theme these days We wonder if Saturdays rendition will be marked by a recurrence of the rather sour note that was injected in each of The Counts three previous 1943 appearances when rival riders inadvertently of course came frightfully near cutting him down leaving the gate gateHarry Harry Parr Matt Daiger and Dave Woods are extremely busy these days engrossed in the myriad details in connection with the staging of Marylands spring classic classicFor For a few frenzied momenls some doubt was raised if those blackeyed Susans could be imported this spring to confect the traditional winners wreath But it now appears this garland will be available V Susanless Preakness would be unthinkable The difficulty is Marylands state flower does not bloom hereabouts until summer summerDixie Dixie and not Maryland My Maryland will herald the Preakness field this spring we learn This is not really lese majeste for Dixie begins in the Old Line State Walter Carter may have another War Relic in process of development this season in the squareset form of Samuel D Riddles Strategic The Survivor winner Strategic is an interesting item to bloodstock pundits for the reason he is a son of American Flag Artifice thus is a threepart brother of the Alabama heroine War Hazard He started but once at two graduating here on the hilltop a few days back then becoming a 1943 stakes winner in The Survivor SurvivorStrategic Strategic is not a Preakness eligible and perhaps is not that kind of horse but he gives some indication of having a future Trainer Carter is rather partial to the produce of Artifice and not without sound reason it seems to us Loyal Marylanders will have some sentimental wagers on Wm Leavitt Branns homegrown Vincentive in Saturdays second phase of Ameriqas Triple Crown This substantial son of Challenger n has tried Count Fleet twice with no attendant success but there were extenuating circumstances on each occasion He bucked his shins in the Pimlico Futurity last autumn and had scant chance after the break in the Wood in whchi Modest Lad forced him into Mrs Hertz colt who himself never put his near hind leg down for the first 50 yards according to jockey Longden LongdenJTrainer JTrainer Ed Christmas is not going about radiating any chestthumping confidence in Vincentives Preakness possibilities certainly but a Maryland bred holds an irresistible appeal for provincial residents of the state statePimlicos Pimlicos competition proffers one feature of interest to the casual observer and horsemen alike that was not provided at the Downs on Derby day This is the electric teletimer which neons the fractional times to the public as the Preakness is in progress Belmont Park also boasts one of these devices Racegoers will glance at it interestedly from time to time during the decisions of both the Preakness and Bejmont Stakes particularly if the going is dry dryThe The old Batlimore racing strip is receiving a good deal of attention these days and its present condition marks something of a triumph of workmens skill over the elements Feature writers delight in recounting how Blue Swords savors cigars but he is not the lirst thoroughbred of catholic palate by any means Okapi a first rate sprinter for Brookmeade and now a successful sire of sprinters himself was addicted to tobaccochewing While Alsab is exceedingly fond of oranges and grapefruit having developed this unusual taste for citrus fruits when he was a juvenile in Miami he now dotes on these delicacies much as the average horse does on sugar sugarThe The Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park promises to resolve itself into a re ¬ markably high class offering what with Whirlaway shipping to Belmont Park some ¬ what unexpectedly and Market Wise Riverland Attention and Shut Out pointing for that historic mile and a quarter Everyone enthused about Attentions bloom and condition as he appeared for the Dixie while horsemen who have seen him rhapsodize over Shut Outs growth from three to four The Suburban is handicapper Jack Campbells favorite race and it is no exaggera ¬ tion to say he has increased its vogue in recent years It was a Suburban renewal which attracted a gathering of about 60000 two seasons back the largest crowd of any record assembled at a New York course where racing is 200 years old
