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Empire City Inaugurates Summer Meet Session to Be Run At Jamaica Course Butler Handicap Tops Seven Stakes on Roster; Numerous Name Horses to See Action JAMAICA, L. I., N. Y., June 26— The scene of the remarkably successful wartime turf season in New York State moves Monday to the popular, easily accessible and informal Jamaica track, where the Empire City Racing Associations annual summer meeting of 24 days will be presented to conform to Washington bureaus transportation restrictions. Judging from the public response to Aqueducts meeting, which terminates today, the Butler heirs July progr?m will prove an enormous success. At the end of the seventeenth of the Queens County Jockey Clubs 18-day run, the total turnstile count was 317,837, which patronage represents a marked increase over the 282,651 for the entire 18 days in the summer of last year. Further, the "tote" turnover for the entire meeting was 6,259,992 more than for the full 1942 term. The Empire City meeting will be notable for the renewals of a pretentious roster of seven stakes features, beginning with Saturdays 5,000 added Empire City Handicap, which is exclusively for three-year-olds. On the glorious Fifth," there is the ,000 Demoiselle. This program may be devoted to the American turfs patriotic War Relief. The 0,000 Butler Memorial, richest of the stakes annuals, will be presented on the second Saturday bill, July 10. Mid-Week Features The ,000 East View, for juvenile colts and geldings, is to be decided on Wednesday, July 14, followed by the Fleetwing Handicap of six furlongs for a prize of ,500 added on Saturday, July 17, the Wakefield Stakes of ,000 for two-year-olds of both sexes on Wednesday, July 21, and the Yonkers Handicap for three-year-olds and upward over a mile and a sixteenth on getaway day, Saturday, July 24. This event is for three-year-olds and upward. Handioapper John B. Campbells imposts for the Empire City are due on Monday evening. These are of unusual interest to Metropolitan enthusiasts for the reason it is incumbent upon the official weight adjuster of The Jockey Club courses to venture his impressions of the Dwyer, in which Famous Victory was swiftly overtaking Vincentive at levels of 110 pounds. There is not the faintest doubt that Empire Citys stakes events and its overnight programs as well, will attract more and better runners for being presented at Jamaica instead of at the clubs Yonkers home. About two-thirds of all Long Islands fabulous horse colony are quartered at Belmont Park, which is appreciably nearer Jamaica than Empire City race track. There is no question, for that matter, that Empires meeting will be productive of larger attendances and greater state revenue at Jamaica than were it staged at home. Even the Yonkers tracks West-• Chester and North Shore clientele would find it difficult to attend at Empire under the current, hamstrung regulations as to transportation, which render the Hilltop virtually ex-communicado. Monument to Track Founder The Butler, a monument to that characterful Celt, James Butler, Sr.. who made Empire City the outstanding "moneymaker" among New York tracks with the aid of guileful Matt Winn, will be the most attractive stake to be decided at the meeting as well as the most valuable. Several of Long Islands handicap luminaries who are deploying to Suffolk and Chicago for the Massachusetts and Stars and Stripes will return here for the Butler. Among the more familiar and popular nominees are Belairs Apache and Vagrancy, Greentrees Shut Out, Devil Diver and The Rhymer, Marise Farms Market Wise, Tommy Heards Boysy, C. S. Howards Mioland, W. L. Branns Pictor, Wood-vales Our Boots and William Helis Attention. Whirlaway is an eligible but it seems scarcely likely he will turn up for this occasion, as he now is at Washington Park and with a cluster of 0,000 handicaps directly ahead. Handicapper Campbells Butler weight assignments will be released Monday, July 5. Despite unavoidable conflicts with attractive stakes and purses elsewhere, the Empire City book and the meets transfer to Long Island, has persuaded a full com plement of thoroughbreds to remain in the Metropolitan area. Particularly with Saratoga and Belmont Park proffering" nearly 00,000 more in stakes and purse values than in 1942 and immediately following the Empire session.
