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w- -ro» "*.vand ~and- » " — reflections! L , By Nelson Dunstan 1 Beat Three-Year-Old Filly Champs Occupy Not Impressive in Primer Garden State Has Tough Problem So Has Lou Smith at Rockingham The three-year-old filly ranks took on a different aspect when Anthemion won the Gazelle Stakes at Aqueduct and Valdina Marl humbled seven others in the Princess Doreen Stakes at Washington Park on Wednesday. Anthemion, a daughter of Pompey, took such as Stefanita, Best Risk and Fair Weather into camp, while Valdina Marl was even more of a shock when she led Askmenow, Fad and Nellie L. to the finish line. The Valdina camp was supremely confident before the race, and as it turned out the bay daughter of Teddys Comet— Lady Marlboro, by Sweep, lived up to all the nice things Frankie Catrone was saying about her. Both races substantiated the claim that the best two-year-old fillies are not always the best at three. Askmenow gave the winner six pounds and the result might have been different had the Headley miss been quicker to settle into her stride. Nellie L., a full sisUr to Mar-Kell, failed to run back to her good race in New York and, although a favorite, looked ordinary as she finished with only Samaritan behind her. She spoiled a filly triple for Calumet, Miss Keeneland having won on Monday and Mar-Kell on Tuesday. A cripple at the time she was foaled, Nellie L. is not as dependable as her older sister. History repeated itself when Occupy ran second in the Primer Stakes on Thursday, as his brother, Occupation, did a year ago. To us. Occupy was not jT~ Nelson j T Uunstan ~ as impressive, but we are going to await another race or two before passing opinion on him. Alorter, ridden by Private pardon, First-Class Private Neves, was the winner and, as the race was run, had every right to be. There was a colt in that race, however, who impressed us as an improver with a few more starts. That was Mrs. H. Millers Ogham, who gave Occupy the run for his life to the head of the stretch and then faded to sixth place in the dash to the wire. Extremely fast, Ogham only needs more racing to tighten him for an effort that will have him fighting it out with the best in his division. When Alorter challenged, Occupy had little left, his duel with Ogham having taken much out of him. Alorter was a surprise, for most of his efforts have been mediocre, his best, by far, being his victory in the Joliet Stakes at Lincoln Fields. But on Thursday he defeated the best they could muster against him. Occupy may go on to better things as his brother did. But, unless we are very much mistaken, Ogham is another who will improve in the weeks to come. Although Garden State officials have been requested to close their parking area, they are going ahe"ad with plans for the meeting that opens on. July 7. They are not easily discouraged, as they amply demonstrated by overcoming obstacle after obstacle before last summers meeting. Depend upon it, they will do everything within their power to accommodate the public in the matter of transportation. The meeting I should be a fine one, for many of the most important stables in the country have | reserved stalls. As they were staging their first meeting last year, Ben Jones sent Whirlaway there and recently stated he hoped he could send one or two of the Calumet horses there this season. No less than 630 horses were named for the dozen I j stake events which will highlight the 50-day meeting. Camden opened a new racing area last season, drawing fans from New York to Washington, with Philadelphia the hub. Horsemen came away singing its praises and that is reflected in the high class stables it has attracted this year. With Delaware Paik closed for the season, horsemen i are pulling for them to_overcome their transportation difficulties. With the courage they showed last season, they will now leave no stone unturned to open, with some way of getting fans to the new Camden track. Garden State has a problem and we believe will solve it. In Maryland the politicians tied racing in a bag that only the late Houdini could wiggle from. And New England also has its problem. Lou Smith has 18 days at his Rockingham Park, but many claim he cannot make a success of it due to transportation difficulties. Should he not run his meeting, Suffolk has offered to put on 18 days of racing, the proceeds to go to War Relief. Smith is on a spot, for he will be damned if he does and damned if he does not. One Boston scribe hints — and rather broadly — that someone is out to cut Lous throat. Personally, we believe politics is racings gravest danger. It has reared its ugly head in Maryland, Illinois, New England and, possibly, New Jersey. Here in Illinois they have a "rotation" bill to alter track dates annually, and one has only to read the measure to realize that a group of lawmakers are profoundly discussing it, even though they must know down deep it is the death-knell of high class racing in Chicago. It would automatically take from the Illinois Racing Board the power to grant dates and shuffle the important Chicago fixtures so that they would become meaningless pawns in the scheme of the American turf. It would take from Arlington -Washington Parks all they have striven to elevate. If a few men have that power, then it is to wonder just what we Americans are fighting for. Some persons have been against breeders awards on the premise that a comparative few would get most of the money. A glance at the eight races at Aqueduct on Thursday reveals that eight different breeders will receive 5 or more on the days results. That will not always happen, naturally, but a glance at the charts for a week reveals the distribution will be as widespread as can be expected. Simple arithmetic shows that the percentage favors the breeder who has the greatest number of horses running for him. But it follows that the bigger breeder has greater j expenses. Then again, the breeder of a winner such as Alsab can receive a tidy sum, regardless of how many horses he sends to the races. The New York plan as ; against a flat percentage is being debated, but either one is better for the breeder than 1 any arrangement which leaves the cheaper winner out of consideration. A man may | breed his best stallion and mare and still get a lemon. His intentions were the best | and his expenses as heavy, regardless of the class of the produce. No matter how a ! breeder strives for quality, he must get a certain percentage of cheap ones. But the ! horse can win races, so why should the breeder be penalized for the fact that some I prove cheaper than others?
