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; ; : 1 j 1 ; ; ; r , " ; I betweenI RACES By Oscar Otis Panamanian Jockey Makes Bow Portland Inaugural Crowd Larger New York Officials Courteous Hollywood Strip Fastest Ever HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., May 26. Ruperto Donoso gave proof that South American pilots could more than hold their own in American riding circles, and fired by the Donoso example and success in the United States, another pilot has arrived from the Southern hemisphere to try his luck. We refer to Luis DCasse-ris, a native of Panama who led seven different meetings in the isthmus Republic. According to the Panamanian records, he has ridden more than 800 winners. He weighs 110 pounds and has been riding for 14 years. DCasseris came to the United States during the winter months with Ru-dolpho Endara, who introduced El Miope to Santa Anita fans, and also has a horse for unveiling here named Ali Baba. He was not allowed to ride until he had straightened himself out with the immigration authorities, which he has since done. He has been granted the usual probationary license here, entitling him to two mounts before a permanent license is issued. DCasseris has landed a berth with the stable of Tom Peppers and may get a chance to pilot Radiotherapy, Sullivan, and other of the English greats before the season is over. "Riding looks easier to me here- than in Panama," says DCasseris, "for the one reason that down there, we use the Australian barrier. This puts a far greater premium on horsemanship at the barrier than in your enclosed, electric starting gates. If a fellow isnt alert at the Australian gate, he may get tossed 20 feet in the air." It develops that DCasseris is not entirely a stranger to American horses? He has ridden some of them in Panama, and finds their temperament quite the same as that of the South Americans. AAA Reports from Portland Meadows, Americas only night racing strip, on the outskirts of the Oregon metropolis, reveal a gala opening with attendance and play up more than 35 per cent over comparable nights last year. Additional lights have been installed, which have had the effect of destroying the "aisles of shade" which prevailed between the arc installations at the Inaugural meeting last summer. But most interesting of all is that General Manager Bill Kyne has gone ahead with his plan of standardizing the silks according to post positions. The colors on the program read all the same, first race to eighth. In order, they are red, blue, white, green, black and white, yellow, red and kelley green, yellow and apple green, and cerise and white. This may be all right for night racing, but we doubt that the innovation will be well received in other quarters, where the traditional silks of the individual owner hold forth, and have, from time immemorial. AAA Maybe it is taken for granted in New York, but to a newcomer on the metropoli-; tan scene it is a source of some surprise to the writer and worthy of mention. We refer to the extreme courtesy of the official staff to one and all. We happened to be in the offices at Belmont last week when the following event took place. A horseman, obvi-; ously not one overly endowed with worldly goods, entered the office of Francis Dunne, steward representing the racing commis- sion, and prefaced his remarks with, "Mr. Dunne, Im sorry to disturb you with a complaint, but . . ." He got no further. Dunne halted him at once by saying, "Get it out of your head that youre disturbing me. Why, my good fellow, Iget paid to handle complaints, and set anything wrong right. Go ahead." The man did, and with- in five minutes the horseman was sent on his way with the problem solved. It had to do with the earnings of a horse in Ken- tucky, which necessitated a phone call to the officials at Churchill Downs. While-! this is perhaps a trivial matter, it explains a lot why horsemen like New York, for they not only get their problems ironed out, but with a heap of politeness tossed in for good measure. AAA The Hollywood Park racing strip, long rated as one of the fastest racing strips in the country, is far faster than ever before. The reason, without a doubt, is the changeover, within a week, from a hard-rolled , surface for the recent harness meeting of s the Grand Circuit. Tractors and harrows have been working heroically during the l interim period, but, even so, they have not l succeeded in getting the cushion to its r usual depth. As a matter of fact, some horsemen like the pasteboard strip better I than the deep cushion. That all depends, ; of course, on the type of the horse each individual happens to have in the barn. After walking the track yesterday morning, the writer is convinced that it will be freer from cupping than at any time in past Hollywood history. Cuppiness has been perhaps the sole fault that could be found with the Hollywood strip in past seasons. Horses and People: Mervyn LeRoy, president of the Puett Gate company, is introducing the new and improved model of his starting machine at the current meeting. . . Carding of the Empire City International Gold Cup on July 19 will deter several horses from shipping here, which confidently were expected to be Hollywood Gold Cup starters. . .Post Graduate, who died the other day, had a heart three times normal size, according to the report of the vets who made an autopsy. ..Heart failure among horses is on the increase, it appears, i
