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BETWEEN RACES By OSCAR OTIS BALTIMORE Md May 15 Maryland and New Jersey breeding activity is going ahead steadily although in Jersey there is some despondency among some breeders over the prohibitive tax program of their governor Excessive taxes on the turf have a major if indirect effect upon the breeding industry This state was making a good start toward becoming a substantial if not a leading breeding center when the tax program was put through As one breeder put it Jersey may be missing the boat in racing by imposing too many unfair and uncalled for taxes We are sandwiched between New York and Maryland racing and normally draw heavily from New York and Philadelphia The increased tax on parimutuel wagering has weakened our competitive posi ¬ tion against New York and Maryland tracks in attract ¬ ing Metropolitan New York and Philadelphia patronage A fair and equitable tax would result in Jersey con ¬ tinuing to expand steadily and in the long run the return to the state would be far more Jersey is unlike some areas which have no competition for patronage and hence is in a far worse position to stand added taxes Perhaps the only thing that is softening the blow so far as the breeder is concerned is the fact that in Jersey we have no market breeders virtually all our produce being raised to race in home interests Good horses can be raised in every county in New Jersey and I believe the state could have a future as a breeding market breeding area Currently there are about 35 stallions in Jersey and some 100 farms ranging from a few acres to the 2700acre establishment of William G Helis at Jobstown One of the leaders in the comparatively new New Jersey Breeders Association is Glenn N W McNaughton of Blairstown who chose that area because it is the heart of one of Americas most noted milksheds and because Tax Eyed Ruefully by New Jersey Breeders Owners Raise to Race Not to Sell Stock Blandisher Doing We of Blairstown Stud Gilpin Thinks Yearling Market Is Steady Steadyof of the limestone content in the soil McNaughton rea ¬ soned that where cattle grew fat and sleek thoroughbreds should thrive too On his 130acre Blue Grass Farm he keeps the stallion Blandisher who if he hasnt set the turf world afire has produced consistent winners and good looking stock Howard Jones the Chicago ad executive purchased and raced the first Blandisher to return to the winners circle the filly Gams Mc Naughton is working closely with the managements of the Jersey tracks to encourage the carding of Jersey bred races and stakes and has found the managements quite willing to go along for the best interests of the states breeding industry McNaughton realizes that breeding in Jersey cannot be built up if the walls are too restrictive and wants just enough Jerseybred races to provide some incentive He wants at least one such event at each track Garden State has provided the Jer ¬ sey Stallion Stakes Atlantic City has a three and up stake in the offing and there is discussion under way with Monmouth for a futurity McNaughton said that great aid in drawing up the bylaws and procedures for the Jersey breeders was given by Charles Jackson secre ¬ tary of the California Breeders Association a militant wellorganised and welloperated group groupA A A A AOne One of the most interesting phrases of Maryland breeding has been the fancy taken to Occupy a speedy and game thoroughbred whose Bull Dog blood would make him desirable anywhere even if his racing record were not as good as shown in the chart books The first foals of Occupy are arriving and his book this spring has seen the quality of his matings improve considerably Walter A Edgar Baltimore shipbuilder and master of Woodlawn Farm is among the many Maryland breeders who believe that Occupy has a real future in the Free State He is sending Directory a Challenger n mare who foaled to Jack High and Jacsdate a Jacopo mare but barren last year to his court Edgar is breeding on a small but select scale on 130 acres of rich Maryland pasture and farmland near Ellicott City in Howard County Biggest event on the farm this spring was the foaling but 10 minutes apart of two mares Politigirl who delivered a filly by Challedon and Penncote who dropped a colt to the same sire sirex x A A A AIt It was bur good fortune to talk with Tyson Gilpin of the FasigTipton Company and Humphrey Finney of the Maryland Breeders Association recently and get their opinion on the state of the market Both are experts in the field of auctions arid dispersal sales and judging conformation and bloodline They believe that prices will hold steady or even strengthen in both the Kentucky and Saratoga markets There seems to be a firmness in the market which they feel will manifest itself not only at these two sales but also at the Louis B Mayer dispersals scheduled for later this year the brood stock and stallions sale in October and the last crop of yearlings probably in December The question what price Alibhai has been discussed for some time in fact since the initial announcement of Mayer that his entire thoroughbred holdings would be disposed of in due course Gilpin and Finney would not commit them ¬ selves to a guess as to how much Alibhai would bring under open market auction conditions but Finney did venture the cautious opinion that the amount wouldbe larger than any ever paid before for a horse Hum ¬ phrey based his opinion on the general merit of Alibhai as an individual his proven sire record plus an affinity to be perhaps the predominant factor in any union and the fact that strong syndicate as well as individual bidding is a probability
