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■ ■ " ■" , lHHBMI REFLECTIONS " By Nelson Dunstan Delaware Park Has Own Police Force Touts, Pickpockets, Bookies Must Beware New York Creates Bookmakers Utopia Spa Meeting at Belmont a Certainty NEW YORK, N. Y., June 1. The only possible Derby starter for William Helis is Adonis, whose trip to Louisville depends on the outcome of a mile and a quarter workout at Belmont Saturday. . . . Did that syndicate of of New New York York tracks tracks really really buy buy the the Jamaica Jamaica ■ ■ " ■" , of of New New York York tracks tracks really really buy buy the the Jamaica Jamaica race track? ... If Don Meades suspension ends with Sundays closing of the Hipodromo at Mexico City he will be offered a Derby mount. . . . The Col. C. V. Whitney stable sent out a real promising filly named Enfilade to win the Rosedale Stakes Thursday. This is a repeat name, as a filly named Enfilade won the same race in 1917. . . . Horatio Luro tells us that a prominent South American breeder is endeavoring to buy two leading stallions in Kentucky. . . . Thumbs Up, winner winner of of the the San San Pasqual Pasqual Handicap Handicap at at Sant; Santa winner winner of of the the San San Pasqual Pasqual Handicap Handicap at at Sant; Santa lHHBMI Anita, is the third handicap performer to stage a successful comeback" this season. . . . The Epsom Derby and the Kentucky Derby will be run on the same day, and would not it be something if Col. C. V. Whitney won here with Jeep, and his cousin, Dorothy Paget, won in England with Sun Storm? . . . William Helis plans to buy yearling colts at this years sales, buc no fillies. . . . The Special Invitation" race to be staged at Nar-ragansett on June 6 between the six best three-year-olds at the track should prove of high interest. They will compete for 0,000 in War Bonds. The Wilmington Journal reports that "touts, pickpockets and bookmakers" find the going very tough at Delaware Park this year. When the track opened last Tuesday it was under the protection of its own police and not, as in former years, a detective organization who specialize in race track work. The Delaware Park police are working in cooperation with Delaware state troopers and also police from Baltimore and Philadelphia. Reports on Friday indicate that undesirables have given the track a wide berth since the meeting was inaugurated. In announcing the broader plan of protection, Bryan Field, the general manager, stated: "The state, from the viewpoint of taxes, is a senior partner in the enterprise, and we are going to see that it receives what it is entitled to." It is the duty of this new police force to closely guard the stable area, thus assuring owners and trainers that their horses will be protected at all times. A day or two back we stated the acid test for the new betting regulation would come on a day when there was a huge throng at the track and a long post delay. That jam came on Memorial Day, and the delay occurred in the second division of the Wood Memorial. The field reached the post at 4:50 and were off at 5:04 2. In other words, there was over 14 minutes before the race that windows were closed and no wagers could be made. The handle of this particular race was 96,279, but it is just a guess on our part that the final figure would have been a cool million dollars had the wagering been under the old system. If officials at Delaware Park are concerned about the state getting its share, racing commissioners and the Jamaica officials, with their inadequate space, should think even beyond the state, to the public. The track loses, so does the state, and so does the public. Who gains by this system? Only the bookmakers, who have 14 minutes to operate — and there can be an awful lot of lip service within a quarter of an hour. The comfort of the public seems to be the least concern of New York officials. True, they opened the centerfield on Memorial Day. This simply meant that a few thousand people could get out of the terrific jam on the lawn and forego any further wagering for the afternoon. To get through the throng it would have been necessary for them to have the Yale and Harvard football teams form a flying wedge. Why does not the New York State Racing Commission force Jamaica, Aqueduct and Empire City to place betting booths, comfort stations, seats and refreshment booths in the centerfield for such days when the throng is beyond the capacity of the track. The Jamaica centerfield is one of the most barren in the entire country; there is not a flower to be seen, nor any other type of landscaping. At Washington Park in Chicago the management has had the foresight to be prepared for such a day by having a center -field fully equipped with seats, betting booths, etc. If the Jamaica management does not realize that it is good business to cater to the comforts of racegoers, the racing commission should order them to do so. That would be much more sensible than betting regulations which do nobody but bookmakers and possibly the men in the mutuel office any good. There is considerable speculation around as to whether the Saratoga meeting will be conducted at the upstate spa. Regardless of all the talk, it is a 20 to 1 shot that the meeting will be held at Belmont Park, as it has in the past two years. One indication is that the Fasig-Tipton Company, which has a plant at Saratoga for the sale of yearlings, finally contracted with the Meadow Brook club to stage their sales on Long Island once again. The governor of New York dropped a hot biscuit in the lap of the racing commissioners when he told them, along with the Saratoga Association, to make the final decision. It is one of those cases where theyll be damned if they do or damned if they dont! The upstate politicians naturally want the meeting at Saratoga, and they can become very angry when you bring up the question of modern hotel accommodations. Downstate fans who cannot spend the month of August in Saratoga are going to be peeved if the meeting goes back to its old stamping grounds. But we see little sense in a lot of palaver about the question — for you can put it down as a certainty that the Saratoga meeting will be staged on Long Island this season.
