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Nelson Dunstan REFLECTIONS I By Nelson Dunstan 1 1Beautiful Beautiful Belmont Opens Meet Belmont Stakes on Closing Day Suburban Richest of Many Stakes Commissioners Meet Tuesday NEW YORK N Y May 8 Beautiful Belmont opens Monday and before June 5 rolls around many of the most important stakes on the American turf calendar will have been written into the history books With racings popularity continuously increasing it would not be surprising if new records were established at the spring meeting that features rich events for all divisions The richest stake will be the 30000 added Suburban Handi ¬ cap and a scanning of the eligibles xeveals the best older horses now in training with the possibility of Market Wise and Fenelon coming back for the mile and a quarter test with Attention Riverland Shut Out Apache Devil Diwer Marriage and others Alsab is an eligible but as he has just started training it is hardly possible Sarge Swenke will point him for an important race as early as May 31 In last years Suburban Market Wise ran the best race of his career defeating Whirlaway and Atten ¬ tion in 201 Attention is in superb condition as he demonstrated in the Dixie Handicap that was won by Riverland in track record time Not in years has the eastern turf boasted so many handicap stars who promise keen competition in the Suburban along with the Metro ¬ politan Handicap on Saturday May 15 Threeyearolds have even greater opportunities than older horses with the Swift at seven furlongs on May 12 the Acorn one mile May 19 fillies the Withers one mile on May 22 the Coaching Club American Oaks exclusively for fillies at one and onehalf miles on May 26 the Peter Pan one mile and a furlong on May 29 and the timehonored Belmont Stakes also at one and onehalf miles on June 5 Count Fleet is eligible for the Withers and Belmont and Don Cameron may start the Hertz colt in both as there is a twoweek lapse between them Bossuet Slide Rule Twoses Vincentive Ocean Wave Strategic Blue Swords Askmenow and others are named for the Withers Count Fleet is a supple ¬ mentary entry for the Belmont third and last event of the Triple Crown but is not named for the 57500 Peter Pan Handicap which is run a week previously On Wednesday May 26 the Coaching Club American Oaks will possibly give Long Island fans a glimpse of Askmenow Too Timely La Reigh and others who contested the Pimlico Oaks along with Our Page Blue Satin Eagle Stone Nippy and other top threeyearolds of the socalled weaker sex Belair Studs Vagrancy won last years renewal of the Coaching Club American Oaks but Belair has no colorbearer in this years running runningJuveniles Juveniles are not as far advanced as in former years but the Belmont events will clarify the division that generally reaches its peak at Saratoga The Fashion for twoyearold fillies will cofeature Mondays card with the Toboggan a sixfurlong affair for older horses The Juvenile for twoyearolds at five furlongs will be run on May 22 along with the Withers and the National Stallion at five furlongs will be featured with the Belmont Stakes on June 5 closing day of the meeting The Fashion boasts a rosterincluding many of the outstanding fillies since 1905 and was won last year by Pomrose who ran third to Askmenow and Too Timely in this years Pimlico Oaks The Juvenile on May 22 closed with 152 nominations including Pensive said to be best of Calumet Farm Stables babes Mrs Albert Sabaths Civil Liberty and others who have shown promise The National Stallion closed with 211 nominations with Coldstream Belair Stud Calumet Farm Greentree Stable Alfred G Vanderbilt C V Whitney Joseph E Widener and Woodvale Farm naming five or more In all the list includes the best bred babes in the land Foxcatcher Farms Suncap won both the Juvenile and the National Stallion last year Belmont has ever been a bulwark of the steeplechasing sport and at this meeting will stage the International Steeplechase on May 11 the Charles L Appleton Memorial Cup Steeplechase May 18 the Belmont Spring Maiden Steeplechase May 20 the Corinthian Steeplechase Handicap May 25 and the Meadow Brook Steeplechase on June 1 At Pimlico they had about 120 jumpers with the result that the through the field events were well filled and included many younger horses who are in competition for the first time this season Most of those at Pimlico will go to Belmont assuring a good brand of sport In the International Steeplechase John T Skinner has Fifty Fifty and Equilibrium who ran onetwo at Pimlico and Jim Ryan plans to start Nayr and Replica II These two prominent trainers have close to 30 Jumpers and most of them are ready for the races Other eligibles include Cottesmore Mandingham Good Chance and others who are in training With 5000 added the Meadow Brook Steeplechase Handicap will be the last steeplechase event staged and at two and a half miles will draw Elkridge and Bath two of the top jumpers of the 1942 season With hunt meetings cancelled this shapes up as one of the most interesting Belmont seasons for chase enthusiasts The National Association of State Racing Commissioners will hold their annual meeting at the WaldorfAstoria in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday It will be a meeting confined mostly to business routine with few of the social activities that were a part of the famous meetings Herbert Bayard Swope chairman of the Turf Com ¬ mittee of America will make a report on racings contributions to War Relief and other speakers will talk on subjects that are pertinent at this time Wartime regu ¬ lations affecting racing and steps taken by the association in regard to federal legislation will be discussed It was the meeting of the commissioners last year which brought about the Chicago convention that had such farreaching effects on the 1943 sport From the Chicago Convention emerged the Turf Committee of America and the Thoroughbred Racing Associations Racing is more solidly organized than it was at this time last year but there is still much to be done and we dare say that the commissioners will take up questions designed to keep the turf in line with war relief activities Many of the commissioners will attend the Belmont meeting during their stay in New York
