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Nelson Dunstan REFLECTIONS By Nelson Dunstan Belmont Hike Too Long for Fans How Far Can Racegoers Walk No Definite Yearling Sales Plan Bigger Purses for Better Horses NEW YORK N Y May 12 The FasigTipton Company plans a sale of horses in training at Belmont Park on June 4 providing they get sufficient entries Morrison Dixon says You cannot buy a good horse today and you cannot give a bad one away Olein the mare who sold for 17000 guineas at the Lord Glanely dispersal has foaled a bay colt by Hyperion Horse and Hound announces that Hangover who won the opening race of the English flat season is no relation to Boozers Gloom Walter Donovans holeinone is now as famous as Whisk Brooms record in 200 Shut Out will be an improved runner in the Metropolitan on Saturday Devils Thumb will soon be back in train ¬ ing Reigh Count sire of Count Fleet leads all stallions by a wide margin to date Instead of the 50000 guaranteed Churchill Downs donated 60260 to tothe the American Red Cross Earl Sande thinks Kentucky KentuckyIs Is the logical place to sell yearlings Wonder if there is isanything anything to those rumors about a revamped track in New Jersey holding a meeting in the fall Col John F Wall breeding authority is in the stewards stand at Charles Town Whatever became of the Man o War Packing Company Bold Irishman will attempt a comeback The supplementary entry is to be abolished Narragansetts contribution to the American Red i Cross was but 2000 short of that at Churchill Downs Tuesday was a mean raw day and that was partly the reason why the Belmont attendance fell off to 10000 as compared to 15000 on the same day last year But there is no getting away from the fact that the hike from Queens Village to Belmont Park had much to do with the decrease As bdautiful as Belmont is the first two days is sufficient to show that it would have been much better if the meeting had been transferred to Jamaica or Aqueduct We have seen estimates of anywhere from a mile to three miles but whatever the distance it is too long for fans who make a daily trip to the track There is only two ways of getting to Belmont and one is to walk it or the other to take a bus in which it is next to impossible to get a seat Fans are now leaving immediately after the feature race for if they wait until the card is over they must stand in line for an hour or more before they can get on the bus The racegoers take it good naturedly enough but while Belmont Park can now do nothing but go through with the conditions such as they are we certainly hope that the Empire officials are going to see what inconveniences the Belmont fans are up against and transfer their meeting to a track that can be reached without walking anywhere from a mile and a half to two miles There is even a limit to the patience of a horse fan There has been a lot of tripe printed in the newspapers recently as to what fans will go through to see horse racing One columnist went so far as to state if they needed more men in Africa the way to get them was to start a race course there Racing has pointed out time and again how ridiculous it is to leave the cars standing idle alongside Belmont Park while the fans trudge from Queens Village It is not only ridiculous it is plainly discrimination against one form of amusement But are not the race tracks just as ridiculous when they could use the Jamaica track but instead of that close their own parking areas while the police make it hot for A card drivers and yet virtually say to the fans If you want to come to our track you must walk the three or four miles arid get home somewhere between 7 and 8 oclock at night or drive out in your car In the beginning most people lauded New York race tracks for closing the parking areas but the least they could have done when it was found that tallyhos and other such ridiculous vehicles were not practical was to get their heads together and work out a plan whereby the fans would get some considera ¬ tion Empire City officials claim that there is sufficient trolley cars from the Mount Vernon Station and the subway That may be true but the trouble is that there will be about three seats for every 500 fans who wish to get to the Yonkers track No definite date for the yearling sales in Kentucky has been set Breeders are slow in sending in their entries so the FasigTipton Company is weeks behind in preparing the catalogs Eastern breeders have been invited to ship their yearlings to Kentucky but with only one exception they want a sale near New York That one prefers Pimlico or some place in Virginia He said If Kentucky breeders wanted to comply with the ODT regulations by not shipping cast how can we avoid the use of trains in shipping west One eastern breeder observed They were right in staging their sale in Kentucky They could not very well have done otherwise But regardless of the talk about western buyers the majority of yearling bidders are in the East That is where my horses will be sold and my neighboring breeders feel the same way about it Although the FasigTipton Company had a splendid place selected had all the sales been staged on Long Island they will now have to find a smaller spot to put on the vendues of those who will not make the trip to Kentucky This is the first time the Spa sales have been split and both groups plan publicity campaigns the Thoroughbred Breeders Association having already donated 1000 to the Kentucky sales salesRacing Racing still has room for improvement but in recent years no sport has instituted so many changes to better itself The horsemen who put on the show have come in for considerable attention and one move that is already in vogue at Arlington Park is thatwhich is embraced by the slogan bigger purses for better horses Recently Benjamin Lindheimer announced that racing secretary Webb Everett would increase the overnight purses in the first condition book to amounts ranging from 2000 to 2500 Under the new plan the lowest purse at the two Chicago tracks will be 1500 Many of the original 1500 purses have been increased to 2000 while the 2000 purses have been stepped up to 2500 This simply means that the racing associations are determined to give horsemen a greater share of the profits than has heretofore been the case Under such arrangement everyone benefits for the horsemen are happier and there is a direct relationship with the public in that it will make for better sport With racings continued popularity there is hardly a doubt that this new movement will grow thus making the slogan better purses for better horses one of reality
