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i — _ REFLECTIONS By Nelson Duns tan Keeneland Opens on Saturday Nothing Wrong With Racing 50,000 See Windsor Opening Star of Padula Writes History NEW YORK, N. Y., April 12. With New York, Maryland and New England racing now under way, the scene shifts to Churchill Downs, where the Keeneland meeting will be inaugurated on the week-end. Sportsmans Park will open the long Chicago meeting on April 29. So, before the month is out, five major racing centers will be in full swing. Speaking of Churchill Downs, we have received a letter from Leslie Combs II., who is convalescing from an attack of pneumonia. He says: "We are not going to try and get Durazna ready to run in the Derby as we are afraid it would push her too much and Brownell does not want to do that. We hope she will be ready when she hits Chicago to give a good account of herself." While it has been doubtful for the past month whether the filly who twice defeated Occupy would be a Derby starter, Combs letter definitely settles the matter. We have been saying it looks like a filly year, but if any filly is to even start in the Derby it appears to be one of Ben Jones pair, Twilight Tear or Miss Keeneland. We doubt if either of them will start, although it is possible that Twilight Tear, who raced well in Florida, could be a starting mate of Pensive. In handing down a decision in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently, Justice Drew said: "Furthermore, there is nothing inherently wrongful in horse racing, and it is no more objectionable than baseball, football or other sports." Recently, an article in the magazine Esquire charged that some newspaper writers, whose game is baseball or football, were jealous of racings popularity and growth. We have never put much stock in such statements as that, but, whether it is so or not, racing gives every ind-dication of growing to proportions it has never known before. We hear some predictions of 100,000 spectators at horse racing. Very few racing courses in this country are equipped for any such gatherings as that. Speaking of throngs, 50,000 people journeyed to Windsor to attend the first day of the English racing season. It is nothing in normal times for throngs of more than 100,000 to attend a meet in England and especially so at Epsom, which sprawls out over a wide area of ground. Comparatively few people attending can see any more than a small portion of the race. Unfortunately, that is becoming the case at some of our Long Island tracks. It is only a question of time when another deck will have to be built on the present Jamaica grandstand. Bruno Pagliai has offered Bobby Permane the mount on Don Jose H. in the Kentucky Derby. This horse ran fourth in the Mexican Derby at the Hipodromo and, while he may be better than we rate him, we doubt if he will get the Camden boy as his jockey. Permane has not kept up his sensational streak as at Tropical Park, but it was hardly to be expected that he would. At that, he has ridden one winner on the first two days at Jamaica, which is good, if not spectacular. Permane says he is "lucky," but it takes more than luck to continuously ride winners at New York or any other point. Horses run for Permane but, beyond that, we fail to see where "luck" has much to do with it. A rare bit of turf history was written at Jamaica when Star of Padula "walked over" the first race on Monday and then came back to win the last race on Tuesday. The eight-year-old paid off at 9.70. so it must be that few in the Monday throng liked his chances on Tuesday. Jimmy Ritchie, his trainer, led the horse out himself on Monday, but, as the groom strike had been settled, he did not have to do anything more than saddle the horse for the surprising win on the following day. It was first thought that Star of Padula was awarded the full ,800 for his walk-over, but it developed, on Tuesday, that he was given the winners purse, which amounted to ,160.
