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BETWEEN RACES *aso»ons PIMLICO, Baltimore, Md., May 9. —Tomorrow sees the fifty-seventh running of the second gem in the "Triple Crown" diadem, and over a track rich in the finest traditions of American racing. Just how many years the Preakness will be decided here is a matter for conjecture, for Harry Parr III., president and treasurer of the Maryland Jockey Club, is definitely committed to a program calling for the abandonment of this 85-acre site in favor of a new and modern plant, with at least 500 acres to allow for eventual expansion to comfortably accommodate up v to 125,000 or more fans on Preakness Day. One no doubt will recall the happenstances of winter and the legalistic bickerings which finally resulted in the Maryland Jockey Club purchasing the ground on which Pimlico stands. Parr and his associates purchased the property, not so much to keep Pimlico in its present locale, but rather to prevent the addition of more racing days, which in their opinion would not be for the best interests of Maryland racing. The last few days, Parr and his staff have been deluged with requests for seats and boxes, requests which simply cannot be filled because there is no room. "It is ironical," says Parr, "that last Saturday a local citizen, who opposed our moving to a larger site and who contended that our 85 acres was adequate, couldnt get into the parking area with his car. We simply have to have a larger parking area, and a much larger grandstand, to keep faith with our ever-increasing crowds." AAA With all hands agreed that larger quarters are necessary, at the same time, they would regret to see the present Pimlico pass into memory. The old-timers around here all insist that Pimlico is a track that sort of grows on one and that, eventually, you get to the point where it would be unthinkable to race anywhere else. At th« Preakness Second Gem in Triple Crown Larger Site Sought for a New Pimlico Hilltop Course Is Rich in Tradition Steeplechasing Integral Part of Racing same time, Pimlico is not at all backward when it comes to keeping up with, or may be just a bit ahead of, the times. The Hilltop course was the first Eastern track to adopt the camera finish, one of the first to install the "tote," the Teletimer and the modern-type electrical starting gate. Close attention always has been paid to the quality of the racing strip, and the Preakness will be run over one of Americas more unusual surfaces. The foundation is of clay, which tends to shed water, and over which has been distributed a deep and special mixture of mulch and sand. Many horsemen consider the strip ideal. In any event, no effort ever is made to pasteboard the track in order to impress the multitudes with speed records. AAA The Maryland Jockey Club was founded in 1743, and offered the first-known trophy ever raced for in America. The modern Maryland Jockey Club may be said to have started in 1909, when the Preakness was revived after a lapse of 20 years. Tom Deford, Dudley Riggs, Billy Riggs and Parrs uncle, the late Ral Parr III., were instrumental in reviving racing after the long dark period. In this connection, it might be worth while to mention the reason such emphasis is given in Maryland to steeplechase racing. "The steeplechase racing is the most sport of them all," Henry Parr told me, "and it was the hunt set that kept racing alive all during those 20 years when racing was illegal. Not only did they race for the sheer sport of it, but their efforts culminated in bringing racing back and eventually to the high plane it now enjoys in Maryland. Hence steeplechasing is an important part of our program." AAA Parr revealed that the Preakness purse was elevated to 00,000 to keep this second part of the now well-established "Triple Crown" on a par with the first and third "legs," the Kentucky Derby and Belmont, respectively. Frankly, the Preakness people would rather not add too much money to any one particular race, but inasmuch as Santa Anita first set the pace with a 00,000 Derby, and with Kentucky and New York quickly following suit, there was no recourse but for Pimlico to keep up with "the Jonses," so to speak. Not in prestige, of course, for the Preakness has as much or maybe more than the next race. The many other stakes on the program will continue to be enriched as events warrant, but it would appear that all 00,000 races in America seem to have jelled at that financial point. AAA Horses and People: Kentucky has provided 42 Preakness winners, and Maryland three. . . . The Preakness is named after a horse, in turn named after a town in New Jersey. Preakness, the horse, so the story goes, went mad in England and had to be destroyed. . . . Two fillies have won the event, Rhine Maiden in 1915, and Nellie Morse in 1924. . . . Ask any six people you meet here about the Preakness winner tomorrow and youll probably get six different hoe«*s, which indicates how open the experts rate the race. . . . This writer strung along with Faultless in the Kentucky Derby and Is inclined to give him one more chance tomorrow. Faultless came out of the Derby in great shape, and with speed on hand to go out early with Jet Pilot, the stage may be set for a stretch runner like either Faultless or Phalanx.
