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Detroit Meet to Run as Scheduled In Spite of Pending Court Action I I i 1 i i , Final Settlement on Rental Increase Issue Not Likely To Be Made for Some Time DETROIT, Mich., May 22. Lewis L. Bredin, newly appointed racing commis-l sioner of Michigan, stated today that it was his considered opinion that the pending court action over the advance in rental on the property of the Detroit Fair Grounds would in no way interfere with the operation of the 73-day meeting which will open here Saturday. The state legislature authorized the increase in rental on the state-owned property from 2,000 to 50,000 and the Detroit Racing Association refused to meet the advance. It is expected that an eviction order which carries a 30-day notice will be issued against the operating association and this will be followed by court action which will not reach conclusion until long after the meeting will have been terminated. It is understood further that the impoverished state treasury, in dire need of the estimated ,500,000 revenue from the meeting, has been a strong influence on many legislators in top circles against any curtailment of the scheduled operation. Engage Accounting Firm Bredin also announced that the "nationally-known accounting firm of Ernst and Ernst will check and prove in detail all pari-mutuel transactions, including wagering on the Daily Double. Detroit doesnt have a totalisator, so the total amounts wagered do not appear on the centerfield odds board. The Ernst audit, Bredin said, will be made and posted before pay-off prices are shown on the centerfield board. FAIR GROUNDS, Detroit, Mich., May 22. The passage by the Michigan legislature of the Cloon Racing Act, which authorizes the Board of Agriculture to lease the Detroit Fair Grounds property for an annual fee of 50,000 has not altered plans for the opening of the 73-day meeting at the Motor City course on Saturday. While court action is expected to follow the sharp rental boost from 2,000, preparations for the opening are proceeding as usual. Horsemen who arrived late are busy registering their charges and practically all stalls on the grounds are filled. In addition to boosting the rental on the Fair Grounds property, the new law provides for an 11 per cent "take" on pari-mutuel betting in the Detroit area, with 5 per cent and one-half the breakage to a dime going to the state and 6 per cent and the other half of the breakage to the association. Racing secretary Charles F. Henry anticipates limit fields of 12 starters in both handicaps that feature the inaugural program. All of the horses in the handicap division have been on the grounds and there is plenty of sharp racing material on hand for both the 0,000 six-furlong Boots and Saddles and the one mile and one-sixteenth ,000 Man o War Handicaps. Both head-liners are for horses three-years-old or older. The racing strip has been visited by a great amount of rain recently, but forecasts are for clearer weather and track superintendent J. O. Brown is confident that, given no more rain, he will have the oval in top shape for the initial offerings. The official body that will govern the Continued on Page Twenty-Seven Detroit to Run as Planned Despite Likely Court Action Conti7iued from Page One conduct of the sport will be announced tomorrow, but the stewards are expected to be A. L. Copeland and Charles A. Bray, with Jack S. Young presiding. The venerable Joseph A. Murphy will again represent the Michigan Racing Commission. Veteran starter James Donovan is a newcomer to local officialdom, but he has assembled a, capable crew of assistants in Clarence Mackey, Clarence Welch, Kenneth Steele and Paul Talbert. Edward Ballinger, in charge of the jockey quarters, expects his registration list to contain the names of more than 40 riders, most of whom are already on the grounds.
